Big Time Boarding School
by DarkElements10
Summary: -ON HIATUS- Kendall, James, Carlos, Logan, and Katie are all sent to a boarding school for the Performing Arts. If you want a career in dancing, acting, singing, you name it, you can do it. At school there will never be a dull moment. -ON HIATUS-
1. Chapter 1: Big Time News

**Big Time Boarding School**

**By: Riley and Rhuben**

**Summary-****Kendall, James, Carlos, Logan, and Katie are all sent to City of Angels Boarding School of the Performing Arts. If you want a career in dancing, acting, singing, filming, producing, you name it, you can do it here. No one ever said there was going to be a dull moment with Big Time Rush at school. Follow the BTR boys through the school year. Especially when the winner of the end of year sing-off gets signed to Rocque Records by Gustavo Rocque himself.**

**Many pairings!**

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**~Chapter One – Big Time News~**

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"I swear, whatever it is you found, I didn't do it," Kendall Knight stated, putting his hands up into the air.

"Yeah, and I swear, I wasn't the one watching Fox," Kendall's younger sister, Katie Knight, added, widening her brown eyes, as she brushed her brown hair out of her face.

The two of them stared up at their mom, Kacy Knight, as she sat across from her kids. Kendall's friends James Diamond, Carlos Garcia, and Logan Mitchell were all sitting on the top of the couch behind Kendall and Katie. The three of them exchanged worried looks before they all started talking at once.

"And if this has to do with the garage door-"

"Or the dent in the car-"

"Or the really _beautiful_ vase in the hallway-"

They all took a deep breath and said in unison, "We had nothing to do with it."

The corner of Mrs. Knight's eye twitched as she heard about all the excuses. She actually had something else to tell them, but had been blindsided by all the things they had done. She fought herself in her head, trying to decide on whether or not she should even ask them about it, but in the end shook her head.

"This has nothing to do with that," she replied and watched as all of the kids let out sighs of relief, happy smiles then sliding across their faces. "But, I _will _get back to that _later_." She folded her arms across her chest when she saw the looks of fear quickly make their way back onto their faces. "No, this is something entirely different, and I think you all are going to like it."

"About the aforementioned items we happened to supply," Logan stated, tapping his fingers together. "We were _just joking_."

"And…we love you?" Kendall added with a toothy smile at his mom. He then shook his head, getting back to the topic at hand. "Well, what's the good news?"

"And is this actually good news?" Carlos asked, raising his eyebrows. "Or is it the kind of good news that parents _say _is good news, but it's only bad news for us and good news for them?"

"All of us parents have agreed to send you guys off to the City of Angel Boarding School of Performing Arts, or CABS for short," Mrs. Knight commented, clasping her hands together eyes wide. Everybody silently stared at Mrs. Knight, except for Katie who burst out laughing. Seconds later, James jumped off the couch, punching his fists into the air, shouting, "YES! THANK YOU, GOD!"

"Uh…boarding school?" Kendall asked, raising his eyebrows. "We apologized for everything we broke!" He threw his hands up into the air and a suspicious look crossed his face. "You secretly hate us, don't you?"

"Of course not!" Mrs. Knight rolled her eyes.

"And what about my dreams of becoming a doctor?" Logan asked, raising his eyebrows. "No offense, but I don't see how going to a performing arts school will help me in the field of medication."

"It will probably help you from saying anything like that ever again," Carlos commented before he stuck his tongue out at Logan, a teasing smile on his face. He then pulled his hockey helmet off his head (his trademark) and threw it at James's butt, which he was currently shaking in his victory dance.

"Ow!" James shouted, turning around to glare at Carlos who smiled innocently back at him.

Kendall Knight was the leader to the group of friends. He's known James and Carlos all his life and Logan once he moved from Texas to Minnesota when he was 9 years old. He had a huge obsession with hockey and planned on playing professionally when he got older. He always came up with 'plans' to get things to go his way, and came up with speeches including hockey terms to help his friends whenever they were feeling down about themselves.

James Diamond was the super star of the group, having always dreamed of being famous and marrying Nicole Scherzinger. He was always singing; in the shower, in the car, eating breakfast, at school, whenever he talked to his friends. It got on all of his friends' nerves, but they knew one day it was all going to work out for him. He always has a headshot and a lucky comb hidden somewhere on his person, waiting for the right person to see it and offer him a deal.

Carlos Garcia is the wild, crazy one out of the four friends. He always wears his hockey helmet, which comes in handy whenever he goes along with Kendall's plans, and like Kendall wants to be a professional hockey player when he gets older. He may say pretty dumb things, but has a heart of gold, can be pretty sensitive, and is always there for his friends when they need him.

Logan is the most realistic one out of all his friends, thinking of the right thing to do at all times. He's always there to remind his friends the consequences of their actions, but always ends up going along with Kendall's plan anyway. He's a very loyal friend and dreams about becoming a doctor when he gets older as he wants to be able to help everybody as much as he can.

Katie Knight wasn't sure about what she wanted to do when she got older. But she knew she wanted it to have something to do with a lot of money. She can be very sneaky but always uses her sneakiness to help her brother out whenever he and his friends needed it. She loved it whenever Kendall allowed her to do things with him and his friends, and wouldn't trade that for the world. She loved Kendall so much; she sometimes would call him 'big brother" instead of using his name.

"Don't you guys understand?" James asked, the excited smile never leaving his face. "My dream could come true. Maybe some…talent scout will come out to the school and see me! This could be my one chance." He then looked over at all of his friends. "And I want you there with me." His smile faded a little bit, but it was still there. "But, if you guys don't want to go, then I won't either."

"Why would you say that, sweetie?" Mrs. Knight asked, placing a comforting hand on James's shoulder. James shrugged, blushing slightly in embarrassment. He wasn't one to share his feelings all that much.

"If my friends aren't there, I can't enjoy it," he replied quietly. Kendall, Logan, and Carlos exchanged smiles and Katie laughed even harder.

"Boarding school?" she asked, turning sparkling eyes to her mom. "Hey, can I have Kendall's room while he's gone."

"I'll miss you too, Katie," Kendall commented, giving her an annoyed look.

"Oh, sweetie, you won't have to worry about that," Mrs. Knight replied, running her fingers through her daughter's hair. "Because you're going g too! When I said 'you' I meant all five of you."

"B-b-but, why?" Katie asked, her laughter immediately stopping, her eyes widening in shock as Kendall burst out into mocking laughter. "I don't sing! I don't dance! I don't do anything."

"Maybe that's why you're going," Kendall said with a teasing smile. Katie stuck her tongue out at him, which he quickly copied, the smile never leaving his face.

"James, we all agreed that this would be the perfect opportunity for you," Mrs. Knight replied. "And Kendall, you sing all the time."

"I do not," Kendall immediately replied.

"You do too," Katie shot back. "Remember the time you-"

"Katie!" Kendall said loudly, immediately interrupting her. "Mom, I do not."

"You do too," she replied, firmly. "All you boys do. I hear you guys singing along to the 90s channel all the time." Katie snickered as the boys' faces turned bright red and they started coughing in embarrassment. "And Katie, I think this could be good for you."

"…Why?" Katie asked, raising her eyebrows.

"There aren't just music, theater, and dance classes, there are also classes that teach you how to be a good manager, music producer," Mrs. Knight listed off. Katie started tapping her foot, waiting for her mom to get to the point. "How to run a business and make a lot of money."

"Money?" Katie's eyes widened as her head shot up immediately at the word. She then sighed, smiling up at her mom. "It sounds cool, mom. But, aren't I too young to go to boarding school? I mean, I just turned 13."

"Which is the cut off age for the school," Mrs. Knight explained making her way across the room for her purse. "I have a brochure. It's pretty much like high school. It has first year, second year, third year, and fourth year or freshmen, sophomore, junior, and senior year. And James, there's this big event they have at the end of the year where everybody signs up for this big talent show. They choose a winner in the music, dancing, acting, and filming category and whoever gets chosen gets the opportunity to kick start their career."

"Who does the winner of the music category get to work with?" James asked, snatching the brochure out of Mrs. Knight's hands.

"Well, it changes every year, but this year it's someone named Gustavo Rocque," Mrs. Knight replied. James let out a loud scream, causing everyone to jump.

"Gustavo Rocque?" he asked, a freaked out look crossing his face. "_The _Gustavo Rocque? The one who can even make dogs sound good? The one who created the boy band greats like Boy Zone, and Boy Quake? _That _Gustavo Rocque?"

"Is there more than one?" Carlos asked dryly. "Are you a closet boy band fan by any chance James?" James grabbed a pillow and tackled Carlos off the back of the couch and onto the floor, whacking him with the pillow.

"Where is this great school anyway?" Logan asked, grabbing the brochure. Kendall and Katie peered at it over his shoulder and they all gasped in unison. "CALIFORNIA!" Logan handed the brochure to Kendall. "Well, they don't call it 'City of Angels' for nothing."

"Logan, I think we should do this," Kendall said turning to his friend, ignoring the screams from Carlos and James. "James really wants this. And you're still in high school; you still have college to study all that medical mumbo jumbo. Try it out for one year, and if you don't like it, we can leave. Just one year."

"Well—" Logan looked hesitant as James and Carlos's heads popped out from the back of the couch, looking over at him to see what he was going to say. He looked around at everybody before letting out a heavy sigh. "Alright, why not? I mean, James really wants this."

"YES!" James shouted once again, punching his fists into the air. He jumped over the back of the couch and landed next to Logan before hugging him tightly around the neck, pressing his cheek against his friends. "Thanks Logan! You rock."

"Too close for comfort, James," Logan groaned, trying to push his friend away from him. "Carlos, help."

"No problem," Carlos replied, rushing to grab his helmet. He put it on his head, slapped his helmet twice, before letting out a loud scream, jumping on top of James, successfully pulling him off of his friend.

"So, it's a yes?" Mrs. Knight watching as James and Carlos fell to the ground emitting a loud crash as their feet hit the coffee table.

"Yes, mom, it's a 'yes'," Kendall said with a smile. Then his smile faded a little bit. "But, how are you going to be? First…dad left….and now us. I never planned on leaving till college and I probably would've stayed in town."

"Hey, she'd still have me! The perfect child," Katie commented, giving her mom a hug, sticking her tongue out at Kendall once again. "Yeah, mom what are you going to do without us?"

"I think I'll manage," Mrs. Knight laughed before hugging her kids tightly to her. "Besides, I know this will be great for you guys."

"Hey guys," Logan called out, his face buried into the brochure. "It says here that CABS gets a lot of guest speakers and performances to help describe to everybody about the business. Guests include New Found Glory, Taylor Swift, Ben Affleck, and the Pussycat Dolls."

He immediately regretted this as he saw James's head whip towards him. Screaming, James grabbed a handful of his shirt and pulled him to the ground, trying to look at the brochure.

"I get the feeling that you aren't going to miss this that much," Kendall commented, waving his hand in the direction of his arguing friends. Laughing, Mrs. Knight nodded. "So, when do we leave?"

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**A/N: This story is something that Riles and I have been thinking of doing for a while. We hope you like the idea of this. Our OCs is going to be in it as well as Dak Zevon, WayneWayne, Jo, Camille, and Stephanie in it. Like I said, there's going to be a lot of pairings for this story, one you haven't seen before, and a lot of plot twists and normal teenage problems that the BTR boys face.**

**We hope you enjoy this story.**

**-Rhuben**


	2. Chapter 2: Big Time Arrival

**.:Chapter Two – Big Time Arrival:.**

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**"Wow," Katie remarked as she pressed her face to the shuttle window. "Nice place." She was speaking of the boarding school that they were going to be staying at for the next year.

After the last few hours of being on the plane and having a shuttle from the school pick them up and drive them to the school, it was probably the only time that Katie was going to get a little peace and quiet. The guys had been whooping and hollering the whole flight there and they had finally conked out when they had gotten on the shuttle. In fact, everyone on the bus was quiet, and after looking around Katie saw that most of them were asleep as well.

'_They must have come from far away too_' Katie thought to herself as she turned back to the window and rested her chin in her hands, looking at the large buildings, some she guessed were the dorm buildings, others were probably the academic and sports buildings. She could see a lot of people wheeling suitcases and large bags behind them. '_Good to know that we're not going to be alone in that aspect._'

The bus pulled into a parking lot by the library (which Katie recognized from a picture in the brochure) and stopped, the doors opening with a loud squeak, causing everyone to start to wake up.

"Are we there yet?" Carlos asked the same question that he had been asking every hour on the hour. He pulled his helmet off of the window and rubbed his eyes, looking around sleepily.

"Yes, Carlos, we're here." Katie laughed and got off of the bus quickly wanting to look around as she waited for the bus driver to get all of their stuff out of the shuttle. "Wow!" she gasped, twirling in a circle before facing her brother. "It's even cooler than I thought!"

"Are you sure you're not just exciting of the prospect of being able to scam a new bunch of kids?" Kendall joked.

"That too," Katie agreed with a smile.

"Wow, prospect," Logan commented as he smiled over at Kendall. "Nice big word there, Kendall."

"Thanks Logan," Kendall replied with a tight smile, otherwise not showing how annoyed he actually was. He watched as a guy with messy brown hair and sunglasses over his face walked by, strumming a guitar and singing at the top of his lungs. "Wow, that guy is kinda weird."

"You'll soon find that a lot of them are," a teenage girl stated as he walked over to the group of teenagers that were gathered by the bus. "So are all you guys the ones that came on this shuttle?" she asked, pointing around. She nodded when the unanimous reply of 'yes' came back. "Alright, my name is Julia and I'm going to be the one that tells you what dorm you're in." She waved a stack of papers. "After you guys get your dorm assignments you're going to go into the gym, which is right behind me," she pointed to the large building behind her. "That is where every new student is going for orientation which starts in 25 minutes." She spread her arms out. "Any questions?"

There was silence and Julia began calling out people's names and they went to her to get their dorm assignments. Kendall, James, Carlos, Logan, and Katie moved close together so they wouldn't get separated from each other as students milled around them.

"I can tell you one thing that's great about this place," James grinned as he lifted his sunglasses off of his nose and smiled and winked at a set of girls that walked by him. They looked at him, giggled, and continued walking. "The girls."

"You don't think that the view of the beach is amazing?" Logan questioned, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, you can see it from here."

"Correction, one thing that's great about this place is girls in bikinis nearby." James quickly corrected himself. Carlos laughed and high-fived him in agreement before looking around himself.

"I wonder if they will have corn dogs in the cafeteria." Carlos mused, rubbing his stomach. "Yum! I could go for some right now, I haven't eaten in forever."

"Carlos, we ate just a half hour ago," Logan pointed out, rolling his eyes. "Remember, you ate my complimentary bag of peanuts that I was saving from the plane."

"You can't call that eating," Carlos stated as he rolled his eyes back towards Logan, turning to completely face him. "I mean, that was like, eating a handful of peas, it didn't fill me up at all."

"Well if you weren't constantly running your mouth then-"

"Kendall Knight?" Kendall turned around and walked over to Julia, dragging his backpack on the ground behind him. Julia looked at her clipboard. "You've asked to be roomed with Logan Mitchell, James Diamond, and Carlos Garcia?" she questioned.

"Yeah," Kendall smiled charmingly. "That's right."

"Ok," Julia nodded. "Ok, well your request has been approved; you guys will be living in Batten Hall dorm 202." She reached into an envelope and pulled out four keys that had their names attached and handed them to Kendall. "Enjoy your year at CABS."

"Thanks," Kendall smiled and went back to his friends and his sister. "We got the room guys, number 202 in Batten Hall."

"Rumor has it that hall is haunted." Katie stated matter-of-factly. "Your guys' room especially, but hey, I know that you're not afraid of ghosts."

"Ghosts?" Carlos repeated, his eyes growing wide and his teeth starting to chatter.

"You just _had_ to do that, didn't you?" James questioned, putting down his mirror long enough to look at Katie with intense dislike. "_Now_ he's going to keep us up all night long, crying and screaming at any slight sound just because he _thinks_ that there's a ghost in there."

"Exactly," Katie smiled in reply.

"Hey," Kendall handed Logan his key. "You guys get started putting our stuff away and we'll meet up at the gym. I'm going to take Katie and her stuff to her room once it gets assigned."

Logan looked down at the key in his hand and took a breath before looking over at the bags that were piled by the shuttle. He pursed his lips and then held his breath for a second before sliding the keys into his pockets. "I know that I should be calling you out on the fact that you just don't want to take your stuff, but that would probably not be worth it because you can talk yourself out of anything."

"It's a gift that only us Knights have." Katie replied and she and Kendall fist bumped each other. "See you guys later."

"And be careful with my guitar." Kendall added and waved to Logan, who glared back at him and grabbed his guitar case amongst his other bags. He turned back to Katie, whose smile had suddenly disappeared. "What's up, baby sister?" he questioned.

"Nothing," Katie replied and then sighed when Kendall continued to stare at her. "I'm just scared that my roommates won't like me." She muttered, hitching her purse up her arm. "I mean, I've been around you guys for so long that I don't really know how to make friends with girls."

"Who wouldn't want to be friends with you?" Kendall sounded appalled. "As long as you don't try to con them into something the first night, then you should be fine." He gently jostled her shoulder, causing her to smile a little. "Ah, there's that smile that I was looking for."

"Katie Knight?" Julia called.

Katie smiled over at her brother and went over to Julia to get her room assignment. In Craig Hall room 313. Kendall then took some of Katie's bags and followed her to the dorm hall, looking at the map that she had gotten in the brochure. Along the way, he watched as people shouted back and forth to each other, boys ride by on skateboards or in rollerblades, girls dragging large instruments behind them, and groups of friends freaking out when they saw each other after a summer apart. Although being away from Minnesota and his mother was going to be hard at first, but he was already excited about everything that could possibly happen.

The parties, Spirit Week, the classes, it all sounded so interesting and exciting, he couldn't wait for school to actually start. The best part, and the only thing that really brought him in, was the fact that he school had many sports teams as a part of their athletic requirements, and they had a hockey team.

They made it to her room and Katie quickly opened the door and moved aside so Kendall could collapse on the floor, dropping her bags and falling dramatically. "Oh come on, I didn't have that much stuff." Katie stated, placing her hands on her hips. She jutted out her hip as Kendall continued to breathe heavily, causing Katie to laugh. "It's better than all of the hair-care and skin-care products that James brought."

"Good point," Kendall held out a hand and Katie, with much difficulty, hauled him to his feet. "So, we should look around and see which room you're going to have if no one else is here." Kendall stated and finally got a good look.

The room was a set up as a deluxe with a common sitting area that included couches, chairs, tables, a TV and a mini fridge. Looking around Kendall saw two doors towards the back of the sitting room and concluded that that was where the bedrooms were. Katie must have thought the same thing as she hurried over to one room and peered in before hurrying over to the other one and looking into it.

"I want this one," she stated, pointing to the room she was currently standing in the doorway of. "It's a little bigger."

"Cool, so we'll put your stuff in there and hurry to the gym." Kendall said and looked at his watch. Katie nodded in reply and they quickly moved her things to a bed before leaving the room to go back to the gym.

"This school must have taken millions to build." Katie speculated as they walked along the sidewalk.

"Well, this is the town with multi-million dollar made movies, it doesn't surprise me" Kendall replied, looking around. They met up with Carlos, Logan, and James and then headed inside the gym.

They were all surprised when they walked into the gym and it looked like a regular high school gym with faux polished wood floors and high ceilings, basketball hoops, and basketball lines on the floor, but it was much bigger than they had ever expected. There were two basketball courts in the gym and they knew that that was only part of the building.

There were bleachers pulled out with maybe about a thousand or so students and parents that occupied them. They sat in empty seats in the middle. Logan looked around, most of the kids looked about is age, some older some younger. He glanced at the many banners along the walls for the sports teams and concluded that the school was as good at sports as they were for music and performing. Someone with a microphone had started to talk and he turned his attention to the front. A small woman with a gray bob and wearing a blue pantsuit was standing at the microphone, her hands behind her back.

"Students of City of Angels Boarding School welcome! I am Miss. Martin the vice principal. Today you will be getting your class schedule, touring the building, setting up your rooms, and meeting your roommates. When you get your schedules you will notice how two of your classes are core classes that you pick along with your elective, while others will be automatically given to you depending on your grade level." She cleared her throat and continued. "Seniors and Juniors will have more scheduled free periods while Freshman and Sophomores will have more scheduled study halls." She cleared her throat, causing Carlos to wince at the thought of the ball of phlegm that was undoubtedly stuck in her throat. "Now to explain all the rules your principal, Mr. Turner!"

Kendall, James, Carlos, Logan, and Katie watched as Miss. Martin smoothed her bob and handed the microphone to a five foot seven man with salt and pepper hair and an upper lip moustache.

"Hi I'm your principal Mr. Turner!" He greeted in a booming voice. "We aren't too strict so we don't have too many rules but when a rule is broken we will come down hard on any violators." He said looking around at the crowd and then went on.

"Okay the first rule is never, ever get in a fight. You will either be academically or physically punished, suspended, or expelled." Carlos pouted a little and crossed his arms over his chest. Next to him, James laughed quietly as he continued. "The second rule is no skipping classes or being tardy and that's pretty self-explanatory. The third rule is no milling around campus after ten pm. seniors and juniors have until 11 pm. The fourth rule is after nine-thirty boys are not allowed in girls dorms and girls are not allowed in boy's dorms. Those three rules basically cover everything. So students come grab your schedules from the tables behind me, their organized alphabetically by last name." He turned the mic off and walked over to the petite Miss. Martin.

Kendall, Katie, Logan, James, and Carlos stood in line for their schedules and looked over them as they waited for the crowd to disperse before trying to make their way back to each other. Kendall looked over his schedule and made a face as he looked at the class periods. "Since when do they have eight class periods?" Kendall asked, looking around in confusion.

"Different schools have different class periods; the last school I went to had seven" Kendall looked around a saw a girl with long blonde hair and brown eyes looking back at him with a half smile. "But don't be fooled, the hours of the classes are changed a little bit, and some of your classes are most likely going to be doubled, but it depends on the day."

Kendall was speechless for a few seconds. But when the girl raised an eyebrow, as if silently thinking that he was mute he was able to move again. "Thanks" he finally found his voice and smiled a little.

"No problem" the girl replied and walked away, going to help another student that looked confused about their own schedule.

"Are you ok?" Kendall jumped and turned around to see James grinning at him as Carlos, Logan, and Katie looked interested. "You seemed kind of stunned there, dude. I hope you don't act that way around all of the girls here." He paused and then slapped Kendall on the shoulder. "Actually, keep acting like that, then all of the ladies will be mine." He grinned.

"Whatever," Kendall rolled his eyes.

"Who was that?" Katie questioned.

"No one," Kendall replied quickly. "No one I know anyway," he remembered the schedule in his hands. "How do you schedules look?" He quickly compared his schedule with the guys and smiled when he realized that most of their classes were the same. "Welcome to CABS guys, this is going to be our home for a while."

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**A/N: And here's the next chapter. We really can't wait to show you guys what this story has in store. There's a lot that we can do with it and we're going to try and make sure that it will be a favorite of yours. What did you think? Questions? Comments? Constructive Criticism is welcome.**

**-Riley**


	3. Chapter 3: Big Time Girls

**~Chapter Three – Big Time Girls~**

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"Whoever said it was a good idea to let our friends leave all their stuff in our room for now needs to be shot," Riley Jackson-McGuire commented, rubbing her temples as she watched box after box and bag after bag be carried into the suite that she and her siblings shared. "Geeze guys, how much stuff do you have?"

"You seem to be forgetting that we're girls, Riles," Jo Taylor commented, brushing her blond hair behind her ears. She crossed her arms over her chest and smiled over at her black-haired, blue-eyed friend. "And if you want to shoot someone that would have to be your brother."

"Thanks, Pat, I appreciate it," Riley said with an eye roll as she turned towards her brother, Patrick Jackson-McGuire, as he set a bag down on the ground, his arm muscles bulging. Patrick stuck his tongue out at her in reply, rolling his eyes too.

"Love you too."

Suddenly, Patrick stumbled forward a few steps as his twin brother, Noah Jackson-McGuire, lowered his foot to the floor. He had a box in his arms and it was obvious he had just kicked Patrick. "Move your fat fanny, I can't get in."

Patrick stuck out his tongue at his twin before crossing the room and over to the couch, grabbing a magazine before dropping down onto the couch. Noah stuck his tongue out back at him before heading out of the door once again.

"Seriously, Jo, how much stuff do you have left?" Riley's twin sister, Rhuben Jackson-McGuire, asked from the kitchen, eyes wide.

"_This_," Jo waved her arms around, motioning to the small pile of boxes in the living room. "Is all Camille's stuff." She then gave a bright smile. "My stuff is coming up now."

"You've gotta be kidding," Riley commented, giving her friend an odd look. "Jo, did you bring your _whole house_ with you?"

"Pretty much," Jo said with a smile. "But, I have awesome friends like you guys to help me carry all of this to my room after orientation. Besides, we also have Stephanie's stuff to bring up too and you know all of her stuff will be heavy, what with her film obsession."

"Beep, beep, coming through," the youngest member of the Jackson-McGuire family, Sydney, called out, laughing as he was pushed into the room on a dolly by Noah. Sydney was standing on the dolly, carrying boxes in his arms.

The Camille and Stephanie, Jo was referring to rounded out the group of friends. Camille Sanders and Stephanie King soon went to the CABS after they received a tour from the Jacksons when the first arrived at the school. They are now starting their second year at CABS, while it's Riley and Rhuben's third, Patrick and Noah's second, and Sydney's first.

Normally, someone as young as Sydney wouldn't be able to attend CABS, but with his vast knowledge, and the fact that the whole Jackson-McGuire family live at the school during the school year, he tested high enough to take some classes there as a freshman. Other times he'd get homeschooled by their dad. Plus, it doesn't hurt that their dad, Ronan McGuire, who is also their band's manager and producer, teaches at the school.

Ever since the three girls had joined the school, they became fast friends with the Jacksons. First they were star struck around them as they _are _a pretty famous band. Once they got used to the fact that they were normal kids just like them, they got used to it and they have proved to be great friends to them. A lot of the new kids at school make a big deal about the Jacksons going to that school, but the attention towards them soon changes once they also find out that Dak Zevon attends CABS too.

"Can someone tell me again, why it's a good idea to bring all this stuff to _our _room first?" Riley asked as Stephanie and Camille made their way into the room.

"Because our room is the next floor up, and it will be easier to bring this stuff to your room, being on the second floor, and _then _take it all the way up to the third floor later after we've rested our muscles and everything," Camille explained as Stephanie nodded in agreement.

"So basically, all you wanna do is crash on our couch, take our food, and watch TV?" Rhuben guessed, taking a large bite out of an apple. "What great friends we have."

"Hey, you didn't have to be friends with us," Jo commented, walking around all the boxes before dropping down onto the couch next to Patrick. Patrick lowered his magazine and turned his head to give her a smirk.

"Yes we did," he replied, his smile getting wider. "You wouldn't leave us alone until we listened to your demo CD." He then turned his gaze towards Stephanie. "And little miss Stephanie Spielberg over here wanted us to look at pretty much _every single_ film you've ever shot in your entire life." He then turned his blue eyes over to Camille. "And method actress wouldn't stop slapping us across the face."

"Good times if you ask me," Camille commented, collecting her wavy hair up in her hands before she fanned the back of her neck.

"Yeah, but you're not the one with permanent pink cheeks," Noah commented in his quiet voice, smiling over at Camille. "Just kidding. Do you guys know who your new roommate this year will be?"

"Yeah, we thought for sure Rachel would've come back this year," Sydney commented, grabbing Jo's purse off her arm. She made a noise of protest as he unzipped it and opened it, practically shoving his head inside. He made an 'aha' sounding noise and dug his hand inside, smiling happily as he pulled out a tootsie pop. "We liked her, she was nice."

"And pretty hot, too," Patrick added with a grin and a small laugh. He immediately stopped when he saw his sisters glaring at him. He slowly pulled the magazine he was reading up over his face. "I don't know what I'm saying."

"You never do," Noah commented with a laugh, flicking his head to the side, swinging his hair out of his face. He grabbed a pillow and smacked his brother in the side with it.

"Apparently, her parents didn't think her coming here wasn't going to better her for the future," Stephanie explained, using air quotes. "Which is funny because that's the catchphrase of the school. CABS-"

"Driving you to a better future," everyone finished together before they started laughing.

"I can't believe we have to go through orientation again, though," Riley commented, rolling her eyes. "It takes forever and it's a huge waste of time."

"But, we get to see our friends," Sydney protested, always being the one to look on the bright side of things. "And we don't have to go through _everything_ since we're returning students."

"Yeah, but it's worse when your dad, who's also a teacher here, looks pointedly in your direction whenever they go over the rules of the school," Rhuben commented with a smirk. "Man, you break the rules _once _and it's hanging over your head for the rest of your life."

"Once?" Jo raised her eyebrows, her brown eyes sparkling mischievously.

"Ok, ok, a fair few times," Rhuben put up her hand, rolling her eyes. "But, you've gotta admit, the Marathon Mattress Surfing Bonanza was one of our better ideas."

"Hear, hear," Patrick agreed, giving his sister a thumbs up. "Come on guys, orientation is fun. We get to help people figure out their schedules, give tours, find their classes, you know, boring stuff."

"Are you calling me boring?" Noah asked, raising his eyebrows.

"If the yawn fits," Patrick replied with a wicked grin.

"Bite me," Noah growled, raising his foot before plowing it into Patrick's side, causing him to grunt in pain. Sydney let out a loud gasp and frowned. "It wasn't a bad word, Little Man."

"It's a supplement, it still counts," Sydney cheekily tossed back, smiling. Dimples immediately appeared in his cheeks. "That's two dollars in the swear jar."

The Jacksons had a tradition that ran in the family starting with their oldest brother Julius Jackson-McGuire, a sophomore in college nearby. Each kid in the family has a 'swear jar' with their name on it. Anytime they swear they have to put money in the jar (value increases as the swears get worse) and whoever has the least amount of money in their jar by the end of two months, gets all the money collected. Needless to say, Sydney gets the money most of the time much to the annoyance of his siblings.

But another way they all bring in some extra money to spend on themselves, is the Jackson have part time jobs at the teen hangout in the local mall, the Red Heat. It's a café by day and a teenaged, non-alcoholic serving, night club at night. The Red Heat is a part of the school so any CABS student that goes to the café gets discounts on all the items there. They also have a lot of sports team parties there too.

"Hey, just think, we can scout out all the cute guys this year," Jo said, turning her attention to the girls as the boys started to fight with each other.

"Guys, there are more important things in the world than guys," Riley commented, rolling her eyes. "Like…music...and-"Her lips curled up into a smile. "And how I'm going to get back at Dak Zevon for that prank he pulled on me last year."

"I swear if I didn't know any better I'd say you were secretly harboring deep romantic feelings for the guy," Camille gushed before rolling her eyes, giving Riley a teasing look. "You've been on that boy's case since, according to you; you've arrived at the school."

"Well, if he didn't push me into the school fountain I wouldn't have had to worry about it," Riley replied raising her eyebrows. "He started this and anyone else that's been hit in the cross fire, I'm sorry to say, have only been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Besides…Rhubes is the one with the deep romantic feelings for the '_teen icon_.'"

Rhuben scowled at her sister before throwing her apple core at her. Riley easily headed it before kicking it as it dropped to the ground, knocking it through the air and into the trashcan. Grinning in triumph, Riley wiped the dribble of apple juice off her forehead.

"I don't like him," Rhuben replied moving to the sink to wash her hands. "We were lab partners _once _and I danced with him at Homecoming last year _once_. That doesn't mean anything."

"Rhubes, there's a reason why you don't have a boyfriend and _that's_ because you always deny your feelings for any guy that comes along _and/or_ deny the fact that any guy could find you attractive," Stephanie commented braiding her hair into a side ponytail. "You too, Riles. You really need to loosen up. Honestly, I think it's kinda pathetic that you've gone x amount of years between your last boyfriend and now dateless."

"Well, I'd like to say that that is one plus side to having gone through years of child abuse," Riley commented with a smirk. "This also stops Patrick from being his overprotective self and threatening any guy that comes by this door."

"Hey, you like it when we do that, you just don't want to admit it," Patrick called out, jumping into the conversation. Noah silently nodded his agreement, sliding the pendent of his necklace back and forth on the chain.

"Not to mention we're not all guy obsessed like you three are," Rhuben added, giving her friends a smile, showing that she wasn't trying to hurt their feelings. "But, I've gotta admit, even a tomboy like myself does have their moments when they love to boy watch."

"And you call us sexist pigs when we point out which girls _we _think are cute," Patrick muttered, rolling his eyes before sticking out his bottom lip. "You girls aren't fair. Us guys have needs too! We need guy time!"

"What you _need_ to do is go slap some deodorant into your armpits before we go to the gym," Riley shot back, arching an eyebrow at her brother.

"Fine," Patrick stuck his tong out at her before a grin crossed his face. "I'll use yours. It's on your dresser right."

"Ew, don't!" Riley shouted, chasing after him after he ran out of the room. "The last time you did that you left a hair!"

"We should get going or we're going to be late," Noah commented, glancing at his watch. "I'll take Sydney down to the Freshman area and meet you guys in the gym, aight?"

"You have your keys?" Rhuben asked as Sydney stepped out the door, waving to the girls. Noah waved his keys in the air before placing his hands on his brother's shoulders and following him out of the room. "We should get going too."

"Never pegged you one for _wanting _to get to the orientation on time," Camille commented, exchanging amused glances with Jo and Stephanie. "Not unless there's a certain _teen icon_ she wants to go and see."

"_I'll catch you at the orientation, kay_?" Stephanie lowered her voice to imitate a guy. She then started laughing. "Seriously, girl, that guy has it bad for you."

"Not interested," Rhuben replied grabbing her campus keys off the key board under her name. "Not now, not ever. Not for a celebrity at least. It wouldn't hurt to date a guy who actually cared about your well being, and does sweet things for you because they want to, not just because they know you're famous."

"Good luck with that, girlie, all us girls want a guy like that," Jo said, shaking her head, her blond hair, lightly hitting her in the face.

"Mhm," Stephanie and Camille nodded.

Jo tucked her hair behind her ears, grabbing her abandoned purse off the floor. "Guys come on, we've got to go."

Riley and Patrick came out of their rooms, grabbed their keys, and they all made their way around the many boxes and stepped outside of the room. Patrick let out a whistle when he noticed the other boxes that they had yet to bring into the room as Riley locked the door.

"Let's take the stairs, it'll be faster," Riley suggested, pocketing her keys, leading the way down the stairs.

Once they got into the lobby, they spotted a boy and a girl at the far end of the building, glancing at a map. Patrick slowed his pace as he looked them over. The boy was wearing a gray beanie over dirty blond hair. He had on a hockey jersey over a pair of dark wash jeans and black vans. The girl had her brown hair in pig tails and was wearing a white tank top with yellow flowers on it, over jean capris, and flip flops.

"They must be related," he commented to himself, hurrying to catch up with everyone. "Brother and sister I bet."

"She looks young," Riley commented, glancing at them over their shoulder before they disappeared into the stairwell nearest them. "Freshman is my guess; the guy is probably a Junior like us."

"She's cute," Patrick commented with a smile, chewing at his lip.

"You only saw her in profile, Pat," Jo laughed, hip bumping him.

"Cute profile, cuter face I'll bet," Patrick grinned his lopsided grin, raising his eyebrows as he slid his hands into his jeans pockets. His smile faded slightly when he saw the pointed look on his sisters' faces. "And I promise to treat her with the utmost respect I give you lovely ladies."

"Thank you."

* * *

"Man, I swear there are more people here this year," Noah commented as he made his way up the bleachers and over to his friends. "Syd found some of his classmates. Pat, Park and Sol said they want to hang out later tonight."

"Coolie," Patrick grinned, slapping his brother a high five as he took the seat next to him. "The four of us back together again. This'll be kick ass."

"Just be sure to tell Ronan where you're going," Riley replied, tilting her head in the direction of where all the teachers were standing. She immediately spotted her dad and smiled, giving him a wave. Ronan smiled and waved back before getting into a conversation with the woman next to him.

"No prob," Patrick promised, giving her a peace sign.

"Oh, and Rhubes, Dak wondered if you wanted to go get pizza afterwards," Noah then turned his attention to his sister, grinning as Jo and Camille let out a high pitched "oooh" while Stephanie, Riley, and Patrick started making kissing noises. "He said he'll be by the trophy case after this."

"How about we all go?" Rhuben suggested, ignoring her friends' jibes at her. "Sounds like fun and I could use a slice. We could head down to the beach too. Make it a party, bring Park and Sol too, we could have a bonfire on the beach."

"Right on, I'm in," Patrick cheered, punching the air with his fists. "What better way to kick off the new year? Surfing and partying, my two favorite past times."

"Sounds awesome, maybe we could get Ronan to grill up some food for us," Riley suggested. "Julius and Brittany can come too. They'll probably want a break from all the studying they've done over the summer."

"Text him and see," Rhuben gently nudged her friend in the side. Riley pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and quickly fired off a text before a loud voice boomed over the microphone.

"Students of City of Angels Boarding School welcome! I am Miss. Martin the vice principal. Today you will be getting your class schedule, touring the building, setting up your rooms, and meeting your roommates. When you get your schedules you will notice how two of your classes are core classes that you pick along with your elective, while others will be automatically given to you depending on your grade level." She cleared her throat and continued. "Seniors and Juniors will have more scheduled free periods while Freshman and Sophomores will have more scheduled study halls." She cleared her throat, causing Carlos to wince at the thought of the ball of phlegm that was undoubtedly stuck in her throat. "Now to explain all the rules your principal, Mr. Turner!"

Everyone tuned out of the speech as they've heard it many times before and proceeded to do anything else they could to keep themselves entertained. They went through the rules, some of the upcoming events, a short list of all the clubs, and sports teams, and introduced all of the teachers. They talked about some of the guests that would be coming to the school that year and about the accomplishments of some of the students and alumni.

"So students come grab your schedules from the tables behind me, their organized alphabetically by last name."

"Meet up at the entrance?" Camille asked as she and Stephanie headed down the stairs.

"You got it," Riley said giving her friends a thumbs up before turning to her brothers. "You guys can go and find your friends and spread the news of the party while we get your schedules." Patrick and Noah saluted before hurrying down the bleachers, trying to beat out the crowds of people. "Come on, let's go."

The group of friends quickly made their way through the throngs of people, trying to get to the table with their schedules. They were able to get all of their schedules and soon crowded around the end of the table, comparing them together, happy to know they would see each other during a great portion of the day and they all had time free to eat lunch together.

"Come on guys, it's party time," Jo grinned, dancing on the spot. "Whoo, I'm ready to get my party on!"

"We're going to have to keep a close eye on her tonight," Stephanie said with a smirk, causing her friends to laugh as they made their way through the groups of people.

"_Since when do they have eight class periods_?"

"Hey, he's that guy we saw in Craig Hall," Riley commented, spotting the beanie wearing boy they saw earlier. He was standing around with the same girl they saw earlier, and three other boys, one with a hockey helmet on his head, one with brown hair and sunglasses hanging off the neck of his shirt, and the last one, also with brown hair, and wearing a sweater vest over a white shirt. "They must be new."

"They're pretty cute," Camille stated, trading smiles with Stephanie. Rhuben rolled her eyes, although she had an amused look on her face.

'_That one guy looks very familiar though_' she thought, her eyebrows knitting together as she watched the boy with the sweater vest look over his schedule. "Guys, come on."

"Different schools have different class periods; the last school I went to had seven," Jo said to the boy, causing him to turn around to look at her. She gave him a smile as his eyes widened slightly, his mouth parting a sliver. "But don't be fooled, the hours of the classes are changed a little bit, and some of your classes are most likely going to be doubled, but it depends on the day."

She raised her eyebrows, waiting for the boy to reply, and smiled when he finally did so. "Thanks."

"No problem," Jo replied, giving him a small wave. "Oh, hold on guys, that kid looks like he's confused too."

"Alright, we'll just meet you at the entrance," Camille called after her friend. "We're going to lose valuable tanning time if we wait any longer. Leave it to Jo to be the 'model student.'"

"It's not like Steph needs anymore sunlight," Riley cracked a joke at Stephanie's tanned skin. They always teased Stephanie about her skin, but in reality they were jealous of her. She never had to work at getting a tan because she's half white and half black. Stephanie stuck her tongue out at her friend. "Welcome to another year at CABS, guys."


	4. Chapter 4: Big Time Beach Party

.:**Chapter Four – Big Time Beach Party:.**

**

* * *

**Dak Zevon smiled politely at a group of girls as they passed him, shooting looks his way, before shoving his hands into his jeans pockets and looking around, then looking down at his watch. "She had to have gotten my message," He muttered to himself, rubbing his neck. "I mean, I told her brother to tell her and he would do whatever he was asked without a second thought." He sighed and tilted his head back to rest against the trophy case. "Maybe-"

"Hey DZ!" He heard a familiar voice call.

He looked up and smiled a little when he saw Rhuben, but if he was annoyed that she had brought her friends with him, he didn't show it. Either that or he was really good at hiding his disappointment. Either way, he grinned when he saw the girls, whom he had become friends with pretty quickly.

"Hey guys!" He greeted with a nod, smiling at all of them. "What's up? How was your summer?"

"It's North Carolina," Jo replied as if that should explain everything. "If you're not at the beach trying to get away from tourists, you're in town trying to get away from tourists." She rolled her eyes a little, although she was smiling. "But it was fun to watch them get excited over every little thing."

"I'll bet." Dak replied as she gave her a hug.

"Florida was cool," Stephanie stated with a grin as she lifted her digital camera and snapped a picture of Dak, who laughed, used to her 'paparazzi' moments. She was never without a digital camera so it didn't surprise him to see that she had it around her neck. "I went to Disney World a _lot_ and got a lot more Buzz Lightyear figurines and stuff."

"You know, _normal_ girls would get the Princess Dolls or Prince Charming stuff." Camille pointed out as she put an arm around Stephanie's shoulders.

"So you think going around slapping people is normal?" Dak questioned, crossing his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow. "'Cause if I'm not mistaken, I had permanently pink cheeks for the first two weeks that I had known you." He smiled and gave her and Stephanie a hug in turn.

"Join the club," Riley commented and stepped toward Dak, opening her arms for a hug.

"Freeze!" Dak held his hands up and Riley looked at him with a raised eyebrow, although she still had her arms out. "Hands!" Riley sighed and slapped her hands down to her sides before holding out her hands, showing him that she had nothing in them. "Sorry, but you can never be too careful."

"I wouldn't prank you on the first day back," Riley stated, feigning innocence as she slapped a hand to her chest. "What kind of a girl do you think I am?"

"One that's very conniving and willing to prank me no matter the circumstances." Dak replied as he stared at her with narrow eyes. Riley grinned as she stood up straight and buffed her fingernails against her shirt.

"You got me on that one, and thanks for the compliment." She replied jokingly and Dak laughed as the two gave each other a hug.

"You guys have the _weirdest _friendship I have ever seen," Rhuben commented, shaking her head, giving a half smile. Dak turned and grinned at her, his eyes lighting up at the same time. "I mean, I don't see how you can be friends, but annoy each other so much."

"Because it's fun," Dak replied with a careless shrug before moving forward and giving her a gentle hug. Rhuben patted him on the back and stepped back after a few seconds. Dak frowned a little, but then smiled again. "How was your guys' summer? I bet you didn't get that much of a break."

"You'd be right about that." Rhuben replied.

Ever summer Riley, Rhuben, and their brothers, Julius, Patrick, Noah, and Sydney, along with their adoptive father, Ronan, go back to Australia, where the Jacksons' were born, and stay there the whole summer, so they don't miss it as much. (Sure they go home every chance they get, but during the other breaks their school gives; they sometimes like to go on the offered school trips.) While they're back in Australia they spend half of their time working on whatever music they have to do and they spend the other half of their time just relaxing and being able to act like teenagers. But they love to go to CABS, apart from the schooling and schoolwork (in Riley, Rhuben, and Patrick's cases at least.

"I know the feeling." Dak sympathized.

"Oh, so did Mr. Teen-Icon get bombarded with crazy fan girls all summer?" Riley questioned raising her eyebrows.

"Before you two get into another 'I'm-A-Better-Performer-Than-You' argument," Jo jumped in as Dak opened his mouth to retort. "We need to hurry up and get to the Pizza Parlor." She slapped Dak on the back. "This little get together is now a party, a whole 'Start-Of-The-New-Year' part before we have to deal with all of the stupid classes and projects and everything else that makes school a drag."

"I'm cool with that," Dak nodded. "So we'll go to the Pizza Parlor on Brecken Road and then head over to the beach?" He asked, silently asking for everyone's approval.

"Yep," Stephanie nodded. "Patrick, Noah, Sydney, and their friends are all coming, do don't be too surprised if there are tons of people at the beach party." She made a face. "Probably enough to get stopped by the police, but-"

"But what good is a party if the police don't show up every once in a while!" Dak interrupted, getting in on their excitement.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Rhuben declared, punching the air. "Let's go!" She lowered her arm and frowned after a second of thought. "Wait, we have to get your stuff from our room over to yours first."

"Oh yeah," Camille bit her thumbnail and then smiled. "Oh well," she slung her arm around Dak's shoulders and grinned at him. "We have a man to help us with the heavy lifting now."

"What man?" Riley snorted. "We only have Dak."

"Haha" Dak replied, rolling his eyes. "Come on."

* * *

On the other side of the school, one boy that had just arrived at the school wasn't nearly as happy as the others. He stood at the front of the school, looking at it with a firm glare on his face. It looked even worse than the brochure and it just increased his dislike of having to be there even more. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the car, waiting, watching, and glaring at anyone that had passed by him.

He already knew that he was going to have a bad year.

"Wally, honey," He curled his upper lip and turned his head to watch as his mother hurried over to him, holding papers in her hand. "We're in luck," she stated once she reached him and smiled so her teeth showed. "Even though you missed orientation they were still able to give me your room and assignment and everything."

"Mom!" The boy snapped as he pulled off his sunglasses and glared at her. "I told you a _million_ times, the name is WayneWayne, not _Wally Dooley_." He replied, making a face at the sound of his name. "I don't even know why I had to come to this school in the first place. It doesn't help with my bad boy image, and I'm pretty sure it's not going to help with my acting or singing career either."

"It's the City of Angels Boarding School of Performing Arts," Mrs. Dooley replied as she stared hard at her son, ignoring his tone. "It's going to help you with your acting and singing career." She crossed her arms over her chest as well. "You're going and you're staying in Batten Hall dorm 204. Everything has already been paid for." She pushed the papers into his chest and motioned to the bags that were by the car. "You're staying."

WayneWayne twisted his mouth to the side and slid his sunglasses back onto his face. He normally wasn't that rude to his mother, he actually loved her very much, but he was away from his home now and he was able to make a new start in California and he wasn't going to tell anyone take him for granted or mess with him. Which is why he went from Wally Dooley, normal teenager to WayneWayne, the bad-boy that could get things done.

"Fine, whatever," he grumbled, knowing that he wasn't going to win.

"Do you need help to get your stuff to your room?" Mrs. Dooley asked, hovering by her son's side. WayneWayne shook his head and Mrs. Dooley smiled wryly. "That's right; Bad-Boys don't need their mothers to help them get their stuff to their rooms." She held out her arms. "Do I at least get a hug goodbye?"

Mrs. Dooley wasn't one of those women that cried anytime that her children left the house, after going through three of her older daughters, having to send her son off to a boarding school wasn't going to be that hard. But WayneWayne knew that she was going to be constantly calling him as well as sending him lots of care packages. He rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses and stepped forward and gave his mother a hug, making sure that no one could see them.

"Bye mom." He said to her and grabbed his bags as his mother walked back over to the driver's side of the car. "I'll talk to you later."

"I'll call you as soon as I get to the airport and when the plane lands." Mrs. Dooley called and blew her son a kiss before getting into the car and driving away.

WayneWayne gave a short wave back before heaving his bags over his shoulders and walking towards the school. Students bustled back and forth, yelling to each other and comparing schedules along with taking their bags to their rooms. Anyone that looked at WayneWayne he would just glare back at them or bare his teeth as he continued to his room. Once he got to the hall, he noticed that there were a bunch of bags in the hallway by his door that held a bunch of hockey equipment. He curled his upper lip when he heard shouting coming from the room and went to his room, which was right next to it and went inside.

It was the same as the other dorm rooms, but he was the only one that had gotten to his room so far. So he just dumped his bags on the first bed that he looked at and walked back out of the room again, wondering if there was anything to do on campus and also wondering if there was a way he could travel close enough to home so his mom couldn't send him back when she found out. (And she would find out.)

He stepped back into his room as five boys, three with black hair and two with brown hair went running by, yelling something about a beach party.

WayneWayne's lips curled into a smirk.

That sounded interesting…

* * *

"Hey, there's Dad." Rhuben nudged her twin and pointed as she, Riley, Jo, Camille, Stephanie, and Dak walked along the sidewalk, heading towards the beach. Riley shielded her face with her hand, trying to keep the sun out of her eyes as she followed her sister's finger. "I guess he didn't mind cooking some of the food for us."

"It's the last day of summer; I think he's glad to do it." Riley replied with a grin as she rubbed her stomach. "Yum can't wait for his burgers."

"Am I the only one that still thinks it's weird that you dad is a teacher at our school?" Stephanie questioned as she wiped her hands off on her skirt. "I mean, your dad is cool and all, but I think I'd be embarrassed if my mom or dad was a teacher at my school."

"Like we said earlier the only bad thing about it is if we get in trouble," Riley shrugged in reply. "Because he will always find out. But he's a good teacher otherwise. Besides," she grinned and nudged her sister. "We get to figure out some things about the school before anyone else does."

"Like what?" Jo asked eagerly.

"Sorry, can't tell you." Rhuben replied, making the zip-the-lip motion over her mouth.

"You do that every time I ask you." Jo whined.

"Then you figured you would have stopped asking by now." Dak joked in reply as they walked across the sand and over towards Ronan McGuire. "Hey Ronan," Dak reached forward and the two shook hands. "How's it going?"

"Fine," Ronan replied with a grin. Even though Ronan was 35, Riley and Rhuben and many other girls at the school that had crushes on him said that he looked no older than 27. And because of the fact that he still acted like a kid sometimes as well as having adopted the Julius and his brothers and sisters, it made him feel younger, so he allowed all of the students to call him Ronan instead of Mr. McGuire. "Just trying to have a bit of fun before I have to be stuck grading all of your guys' work for the next year." He replied and grinned sarcastically. "What fun for me."

"You know you didn't _have_ to come here and be our teacher." Rhuben pointed out, looking at her adoptive father pointedly.

"Yeah, but then I wouldn't be able to keep an eye on your and keep you out of trouble," Ronan replied and flicked her on the forehead and smiled. "Where are you brothers?"

"They went to go find Park and Sol last we checked," Camille replied, pointing over her shoulder. "But I'm guessing there going to be here soon."

"Alright," Ronan nodded. "Julius and Brittany are going to be here later as well, so go have fun and don't do anything stupid." He added, looking right at Riley.

"Me?" Riley asked, raising her eyebrows. "When have I ever done anything stupid?" Ronan, Rhuben, Jo, Camille, Stephanie, and Dak opened their mouths to reply, but Riley just held up her hand. "Don't answer that."

* * *

"Hey guys!" James called as he walked into the common room of their dorm, having just finished decorating his room and setting everything up. "Guess what I just heard from a couple of the guys down the hall?"

"What?" Kendall, Logan, and Carlos shouted back from their rooms, where they were still putting up their own things, and stuck their heads out the door to listen to what James had to say.

James grinned as she turned to face the guys. "There's a party down at the beach, some sort of impromptu start of the school year party. Apparently everyone is going to be there." He waited for some sort of reaction but the guys just continued to stare at him, silently urging to continue. "OK, let me spell this out for you guys. _Everyone_ means guys and girls. So girls + beach party = bikinis _everywhere_!"

"Let's go!" Carlos declared, hurrying out of his room. He put his helmet onto his head and tried to look nonchalant. "I mean, we can finish unpacking later, right?"

"Right!" Kendall and Logan agreed as they left their rooms as well.

"Let me just go get Katie first and then we can go." Kendall said and hurried off in the opposite direction to grab his little sister. He went down to her dorm and found her in her room, unpacking some of her stuff. He noticed that the other bed had boxes and bags on it. "Hey Baby Sister, what's up?"

"Not much," Katie replied as she turned away from the dresser and closed a drawer. "Just unpacking some stuff."

"Have you met your roommates yet?" Kendall asked, as he entered the room.

"Not yet," Katie shook her head. "Apparently they were here before I was since I was on a tour of the campus." She looked at one of her sheet of papers that was sitting on her desk. "But apparently I'm the only freshmen in this dorm room because of an increase of freshmen. So it's me and three juniors Jo Taylor, Camille Sanders, and Stephanie King." She turned around and gave a shaky smile to her brother. "Should be cool."

"You're not still nervous about making friends are you?" Kendall asked. Katie shook her head but Kendall could see right through her. "Hey don't sweat it; you guys will be friends even if you are in different grades. Anyway," he smiled again. "The reason I came down is because the guys and I caught wind of a beach party that's going on and I wanted to know if you-"

"Let me get my towel." Katie grinned and hurried over to her closet, grabbing her towel and sliding a pair of flip-flops over her feet before hurrying back over to her brother, grabbing her key along the way. "Let's go!"

"Alright," Kendall laughed in reply and bent down, allowing Katie to jump onto his back before he went down to the lobby to meet his friends.

They hurried out of their dorm and headed down to the campus of the school. Apparently they didn't need to ask where they were going as there were a bunch of students heading in the same direction. As they walked along, they saw the same guitar playing guy from earlier and he must have recognized them for as they walked by him he nodded and gave them a 'what's up?' in greeting. Once they arrived at the beach it was obvious that the party had been going on for a while.

Katie immediately headed over to a group of older kids that were playing cards, seeing that they were playing for money. It had immediately caught her interest as she had been playing Poker and Texas Hold 'Em for years.

"Your mom should have told her to lay off on the gambling." Logan laughed as he watched her get into a game, already concentrating on her cards.

"Yeah, I don't think she even thought about it." Kendall replied and laughed when he noticed that Carlos had wandered off and was talking to a girl in a light blue bikini. Apparently he had said something wrong as the girl had hit him across the face and walked away. "Strike out, huh?"

"Yeah," Carlos sighed and looked confused. "Apparently not many girls like corn dogs as much as I do."

"No, really?" Logan replied sarcastically and then patted his friend on the shoulder. "Carlos, what you have to learn about girls is that they're very interesting creatures and that us guys will never understand them." He sighed. "And that they're all absolutely crazy for not liking Corn Dogs."

"Hey, where'd James go?" Kendall asked, looking around. "He was right here like two seconds ago."

"Where do you think?" Logan snorted as he turned to the leader of the group. "He's around here," he waved his arms around. "Probably flirting with every girl that moves."

"Don't worry Logie," Kendall reassured his friend. "Some girl will see through your geeky exterior and want to go out with you." He grinned as Logan looked back at him with an expression that held a mixture of annoyance and amusement. "I mean, we're in LA, where the girls are-"He opened his arms too wide and accidentally hit someone in the face, knocking them to the ground. Carlos burst out into loud laughter as Kendall and Logan quickly helped the guy up to his feet. "Sorry man, I didn't see you."

"Keep your hands off!" The guy snapped back as he stood up and brushed sand off of his large jacket and baggy jeans. "And why don't you watch where you're going next time!"

"Hey, why are you wearing sunglasses at night?" Carlos questioned, not noticing the menacing tone that the guy was giving him. "Isn't it a little too dark?" He reached out to grab them so he could see it himself, but cried out in pain as the guy slapped his hand away.

"Because I felt like it!" He snapped back.

"Ok then," Logan replied slowly, stressing out each word.

"Anyway," Kendall held out a hand. "I'm Kendall, and these are my buds Logan and Carlos." He cried out in pain as well as the guy slapped his hand back.

"I don't care what your names are," the guy snapped back. "Just know that you're now on my list." He stated menacingly. "And when you get on WayneWayne's list, there's no getting off of WayneWayne's list!"

"Why are you speaking in third person?" Carlos questioned. "And your name is WayneWayne? What kind of a name is tha-"Kendall and Logan slapped their hands over his mouth before he could insult him even further. WayneWayne just bared his teeth at them before walking off. "Wow," Carlos stated when Kendall and Logan let go of his mouth again. "That guy isn't very nice."

"You think?" Kendall and Logan harmonized, rolling their eyes. They watched, mouths dropping open and eyes widening as a group of three girls walked by them, hardly giving them a second look. Carlos stared as well and when they had passed by and they regained control of their bodies, Kendall, Logan, and Carlos hurried after them.

The five of them hung out at the party for a while, talking to as many people as they could and realizing that they had a lot in common with most of the students. Others were nice enough to tell them what teachers to look out for and which ones were the coolest and what some of the cool things about CABS was. CABS was definitely starting to look like a school they would enjoy, even though they knew that there were going to be a lot of things about Minnesota that they were going to miss.

As the party started to wind down at 9, the five of them met up again, talking excitedly about the girls they had met (James and Carlos), the classes they were going to take (Logan), the sports teams (Kendall) and the people that they could take money from (Katie).

"Well, I guess we should get going soon," Logan stated as he looked at his watch. "Our classes start tomorrow." He grinned as he looked at his friends. "Aren't you excited?"

Kendall, James, Katie, and Carlos groaned.

"Apparently not." Logan replied, not the least bit offended.

"Well, I should get Katie back to her dorm anyway," Kendall replied, placing his hands on his little sister's shoulders. "She hasn't met her roommates yet and I think it would be a good idea if she did before they bump into each other tomorrow morning."

"Don't forget that we have homeroom before we get to our classes." Logan reminded them as they started to walk back to the campus.

"When is that again?" James asked.

"8:10" Logan replied directly from memory.

Kendall, James, Katie, and Carlos groaned again.

* * *

**A/N: A little bit of everyone in this chapter. I hope that you guys liked it. Oh and I changed it so instead of WayneWayne repeating some of his words he just talks normally, because that was the only thing in the episode that got on my nerves. Thanks for the reviews and favorites and alerts so far. You guys make us smile for all of the support that you're showing us. Thanks again!**

**-Riley**


	5. Chapter 5: Big Time First Day

**~Chapter Five – Big Time First Day~**

* * *

"Turn off that damn alarm!" James shouted, pulling his pillow up over his face. "Don't you guys realize that in order to continue to be "the face" I need to get every minute of beauty sleep I can."

"Easy there, Cinderella, it's time to get up," Kendall said to his friend.

Like James, he was still buried under his blankets. He let out a heavy sigh and reached his hand out into the cool air, blindly searching for his alarm. He slapped at thin air and his desk before finally succeeding in turning off his alarm. Groaning, he sat up and pushed his blankets off his body, squinting into the bright light.

"We wouldn't be as tired if we didn't stay up so late," he commented swinging his legs out of bed. He stood up and stretched his arms over his head. "In fact, I bet Katie's still knocked out too."

Kendall, James, Carlos, Logan, and Katie did in fact stay out at the beach party until it started to wind down but after that they couldn't get to sleep, they were so excited about everything that was going to be happening in the next few days. They stayed up into the wee hours of the night (er, morning) talking to their moms/parents on the phone all about it.

At the party they met a few people and hung out but it was obvious even though there were a lot of new people there, the five of them felt like they were the only ones that were very new as every other kid that attended the party joined CABS with a friend, or new someone in grades above or below them. James was a hit with the ladies much to their friends' annoyance and Carlos impressed everybody with his ability to scarf down 30 corndogs as quickly as possible.

"Come on, James," Kendall crossed the room to James's bed and pulled the covers off his body before grabbing the ends of his mattress, dumping him onto the floor.

"Go away," James groaned, keeping his eyes squeezed shut as he felt around for his blankets. He smiled and wrapped his blankets all around him, letting out a sigh as he curled up into a ball to go back to sleep.

"Just think of all the girls you'll meet today," Kendall commented, crossing his arms over his chest. "_Senior _girls."

James's eyes snapped open and he jumped to his feet, hurrying into his closet. With Logan pestering them all, they unpacked everything they found reasonable and put them in their proper places. It seemed like a matter of seconds before James came out of his closet, smiling happily, dressed and running his lucky comb through his hair.

"Come on, Kendall, quit lagging," he scolded before grabbing his backpack, heading out into the living room. Chuckling, Kendall rolled his eyes and quickly got dressed before grabbing his stuff. Logan and Carlos were already sitting at the kitchen table eating out of mini boxes of cereal.

"We're going to need to go shopping," Kendall commented before grabbing a mini box of Fruit Loops off the counter, ripping open the side indicated. "Knowing Carlos, he'll eat everything mom sent with us before the week is up."

"I've already started a shopping list, buddy," Logan proudly commented, motioning to the notebook he had in front of him. "I've also set up a budget for getting our school books from the bookstore and any other necessities we'll need later on."

James and Carlos groaned behind mouthfuls of cereal before sticking their tongues out at James. Kendall laughed as he dropped into his seat. "Logie, you worry too much," Kendall commented, shaking his head back and forth. "Besides, I doubt we're actually going to need books our first day. It's like any other school where all we do the first few days is get the syllabus, have an introduction to the class and learn everybody's names. We have plenty of time to get school books."

"Yes, but today we also have to sign up for a sport or a club, there's the opening ceremony, and we meet with our academic advisors, and we have to get our mailboxes, and…and a whole lot of other stuff that needs to be done," Logan replied throwing his arms into the air.

"Dude, relax," James rolled his eyes, slapping his friend on the back. "From what I've heard, the teachers are pretty flexible the first two weeks of school anyway. And you have math class first, that should make you feel better."

"Oh no!" Logan shouted, his eyes widening. "I forgot to get extra batteries for my calculator." Kendall watched, eyebrows raised as Logan hurried back into the bedroom he and Carlos were sharing.

"Yeah, I'd say he's stressing out just like usual," he commented, leaning back in his chair so the front two legs rose into the air.

"Dude, this place is going to be so cool," Carlos announced. "I mean, we all got the classes we wanted, we're done by 12:00 or 1:00 every day, and the cafeteria is _awesome_!"

"Have you guys thought about any sports or clubs you want to join?" James asked, brushing his hair out of his face.

"Hockey," Kendall replied automatically. "They have a club ice hockey team here and they go to the local ice rink every day to practice."

"Dude, we're at a new school in California!" Carlos shouted. "The sun, the beach, the _girls_! Get over ice hockey and expand your horizons." He then grinned. "I'm thinking about joining the Cooking Club."

"Cooking club?" James repeated before he started laughing. "You? Look, I understand that you love to cook but that's…that's…_girly_."

"Think about it, one guy surrounded by all those girls," Carlos grinned from ear to ear. "I think I'll be fine, dude."

"Helmet-Boy has a point," Kendall commented. Carlos's smiled immediately faded before he reached his hand up to touch his head to find that his helmet wasn't there. He started looking around wildly, slapping the table as whimpers filled the air. "Don't, Carlos! Like you said, we need to expand your horizons which means that you have to wean yourself off the helmet!"

Kendall then turned and grabbed James's lucky comb from the spot behind his ear. James let out his trademark high pitched shriek before he reached for it. Kendall pulled it out of his grasp. "And _you _have to let go of your lucky comb!" he added, putting a hand to his friend's chest, stopping him in his tracks. "No one knows us here guys. We can reinvent ourselves."

"Actually, the best thing we could do is to stay true to ourselves," Logan commented, staring at the calculator in his hands as he shoved Triple A batteries into the back. He snapped the back shut before placing the calculator onto the table, lightly patting his pocket protector. "And now I can officially say I'm prepared for my first day in this wonderful world we call academia."

"Yeah, Logan, _you _really need to reinvent yourself," Kendall rolled his eyes, shaking his head back and forth. Logan open and closed his mouth to respond but ended up sticking his tongue out at his friend instead.

"We should get going," Logan commented glancing at his watch as he moved past Kendall to get his backpack. "Homeroom starts at 8:30 and I still don't know here I'm going."

His friends followed suit, throwing away their empty boxes of cereal and packing their stuff. They headed out into the hall and Carlos locked the door behind all of them. He looked uncomfortable as he turned around to face his friends.

"Maybe we should've taken that campus tour instead of going to the party," he suggested in a tiny voice. James, Logan, and Kendall exchanged glances before all four of them burst out laughing.

They made their way to the assigned room for homeroom but found that two of them were in one homeroom (Kendall and Logan) and two of them were in another homeroom (James and Carlos). Carlos briefly made a big deal about it up until they realized that their homerooms were right next door to each other.

"Come on, Carlitos," James clapped a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Meet up afterwards?"

Kendall and Logan waved their hands into the air to show that they heard what he had said. Kendall nodded before leading Carlos over to their classroom door, pumping the handle, pulling it outwards. There were many people already sitting in the room some in chairs, some on top of the tables, talking and laughing with each other.

"I feel left out already," Carlos whispered as the two of them made their way over to an empty table.

"Don't worry, we'll make friends in no time," James reassured his friend with a smile. Normally it was Kendall's territory to give his friend's words of encouragement, but James saw that it was up to him to try and make Carlos feel less nervous about everything.

Carlos sighed but nodded in agreement. He didn't know how his friends always looked on the bright side of everything but he always went along with whatever he said anyway. Right now, Carlos was feeling like the smallest person in the world.

"Excuse me," James raised his hand into the air. "Is this Ms. Gordon's homeroom?"

As soon as James spoke, everyone turned to look at him. He could hear some whispers go around the room and slowly lowered his hand, feeling his face heat up. But nevertheless, he loved all the attention he got, even for a short period of time, especially from all the ladies in the room.

"Yes, it is," Ms. Gordon replied, looking up from the sheet of names that was sitting in front of her. James nodded his thanks and dropped his gaze to his hands on the table.

'_Just relax, James. It's just like a hockey game. You get nervous before the game starts but as soon as you hear the whistle blow, it's game time_' he coached himself, clearing his throat and turning to Carlos. "It's weird being new in Junior Year isn't it?"

"I feel just like I did when Sparky ran away," Carlos muttered, chewing on his thumbnail. "James, I need my helmet!"

"No, you don't!"James replied firmly, shaking his head. He started talking again and his voice cracked horribly. "Reinventing, remember? Just like I don't need my lucky comb." He started miming running his comb through his hair before he grabbed his right wrist with his left hand, stopping what he was doing. He let out a cleansing breath an cleared his throat. "We'll be fine." He let out a deep breath of air. "We'll be fine. It's just pre-game jitters." Carlos smiled, immediately understanding the point he was trying to make.

"Ah, I was wondering when I'd see you, Riley Jackson. Late for your first day again, I see." Ms. Gordon commented, her eyes moving to the doorway.

James sat up in his seat and gazed at the person in the doorway. He felt his jaw drop a fraction of an inch (before he could stop himself) when he saw a girl with her black hair in pig tails, a lock of red hair falling into her eyes, a smirk on her face..

"Yeah, well, I didn't want to disappoint you and not come at all," she replied and gave a small smile.

It was obvious that she had known Ms. Gordon for a while from the way she talked to the teacher. With that, she turned and went to her seat, which was a few seats behind James and Carlos, next to a girl straight, long, dark hair and green eyes. She had a video camera sitting on the table in front of her, tilted as she stared at the little window display where a video was being played back to her.

"Wow, you really made her show us her sour face early this year, Riles."

"Shut up, Steph," Riley snapped back, rolling her eyes. Her eyes then narrowed when she spotted the two boys in front of her. "Hey. I think I saw you guys at the beach party. You new?"

"Yeah, I think I saw you too," Stephanie commented, shutting the side of her video camera, now getting James and Carlos's attention. "You were the corn dog guy." She put her hand on her camera and smiled. "Nice display."

"You got that on tape?" Carlos asked, his eyebrows raising as he gave Stephanie a small smile. "My personal best. I didn't know you were taping."

"You would've found out as soon as the youtube video went viral," Riley commented, biting on the end of her pen, a bored look crossing her face. Then she spotted Kendall. "You were at the party too, trying to get in with The Jennifers."

"I'm James Diamond," James said as he placed a hand on his chest before offering it to the girls, giving them one of his charming smiles. "This is one of my best friends, Carlos Garcia."

"Stephanie King," Stephanie replied shaking their hands. Riley quickly slapped their palms in greeting. "This rebel here is Riley Jackson-McGuire." Carlos's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he pointed a finger at Riley.

"You're famous!" he cried out. "You're from that band, the DarkElements!"

"I know I am," Riley replied, blinking, the look on her face never leaving.

"But, you're _here_!" Carlos continued, his finger starting to shake.

"Right," Riley tilted her head to the side and scratched at her neck. "Even rock stars need a good education." Then her eyebrow twitched. "As does Dak Zevon, Teen Icon." She waved her hand in the air. "You'll get used to all the famous people milling about."

"Who knows, one day you'll probably work with them," Stephanie added, lifting her camera up to her face. "You're looking at the next Speilberg." She then smiled at the two boys. "What about you guys?"

"Singing," James immediately replied. "Dancing. Acting. _Anything_!" He then elbowed Carlos in the side. "My three friends came to support me. They're not into any of that stuff."

"That's the thing about CABS," Riley commented, flipping her pen into the air. "You may come in not 'into' any of this stuff, but you leave with a new passion."

"Hey," Carlos whispered, elbowing James in the side. "This school thing might not be so bad."

'_Exactly what I was thinking_' James replied, glancing over at Riley again as Stephanie showed her something on her camera.

* * *

"I hope Carlos doesn't have a heart attack while he's in there," Kendall laughed as he and Logan took their seats in their homeroom.

"I wouldn't put it past him," Logan replied setting his backpack down on the ground before taking his seat. He sighed and shook his head. "You know how he is..._all _of you are when it comes to school work."

"Why have a genius as a best friend if you can't pick his brain every once in a while?" Kendall asked, his green eyes glowing mischievously. "Besides, if he _was _having a heart attack, you'd be in there in less than a second, helping him out."

"Yeah, well, I could've had a better shot at becoming a doctor if I continued to go to a normal high school and then on to college," Logan commented, rolling his eyes. "School is for learning chemistry, biology…_history_! _Not _how to become the next mainstream band that everyone will get tired of after their second album."

"I resent that statement, Logie-Bear."

Logan turned around in his chair, eyes wide, red faced to face the person who had called him by that nickname. He hadn't heard it in a long time and only a few people had ever called him that in his entire life so it was weird, a shock, and embarrassing (as Kendall burst out laughing) to hear it again.

He came face to face with a black haired, blue eyed girl sitting directly behind him. She was sitting on the top of her chair, leaning forward, her elbows resting on her knees, chin in her hands. She arched an eyebrow and greeted Logan with a "Heyyy."

"Bella?" he asked quietly and smiled when she gave a short nod. "Wow, I haven't seen you in so long!" His face then paled a little bit. "Um, no offense, Rhuben, about the mainstream thing."

"Eh, it's casual, no worries," Rhuben replied waving her hand in the air. She then looked over at Kendall. "You must be his friend. Hey, I'm Rhuben Jackson."

"You were that guy at the orientation, asking about the schedules."

"And this is Jo Taylor," Rhuben nodded over to the blonde haired girl sitting to her immediate right. She then tilted her head over to the girl who was sitting to her left. "And this is Camille Roberts. They're friends of mine." She then gave Logan a small smile. "Yeah, it's been a while."

"Well, I'm Logan Mitchell," Logan replied offering his hand to Camille to shake before shaking Jo's hand. "And this is Kendall Knight. He's one of my best friends."

"I see you've successfully made it to the right class without getting lost," Jo commented, referring back to when she aided Kendall with his schedule. She clapped a little bit. "I believe congratulations are in order."

"Ha ha," Kendall rolled his eyes although he had a peaceful smile on his face. "I just wasn't used to it. I've never been to a private school before."

"You'll get used to it pretty quickly," Camille commented. "But, it takes a little longer getting used to all the celebrities that come around here."

"Dude, you stalked me for, like, a month once you first attended CABS," Rhuben smirked at her friend before mouthing the word 'loser' as she put her finger and her thumb in the shape of an 'L' on her forehead. Camille stuck her tongue out at her friend in reply. Camille knew her friend was kidding as she was liable for teasing every now and then whenever someone brought up being new.

"How do you have enough time going to school and recording new music for your albums?" Kendall asked, widening his eyes. "Your music is great. We're big fans by the way."

"Thanks," Rhuben replied as a bored look crossed her face. "And it's not that hard. Especially if your music producer/father works at the school." She then gave Logan a confused look. "So, Logie, if you're all into being a doctor, why are you here?"

"Our friend James really wants to be a singer," Logan explained, running his fingers through his hair as he started to explain everything. "We're all from Minnesota. We play on a hockey team back there, but James has always dreamed of becoming a singer. We're a team on and off the ice so we said we'd come and support him."

"That's not cheesy at all," Rhuben commented, leaning back in her chair. Jo elbowed her in the side.

"I think it's sweet, after all, friendship is really important," Camille commented, giving Logan a smile. "But, how do you know each other?"

"We've known each other for years actually," Logan replied and Rhuben nodded in confirmation. "She and her brothers and sisters moved to Texas from Australia when they were nine. About a year, a year and a half later, both our families moved, them to California and me to Texas where-"

"You met the most awesome people in your entire life," Kendall interrupted his friend with a grin. "We've been buds since. Well, actually, James, Carlos, our two other friends, and I needed one more person to play hockey with so we pretty much kidnapped him and forced him to play."

Logan rolled his eyes as the three girls started laughing.

* * *

Katie sighed heavily as she made her way through the halls, passing people. She glanced down at her schedule repeatedly, making sure she was going in the right direction. '_Man, this sucks_' she thought, looking at the room numbers she passed. '_I have no idea where anything is_.'

She had wanted to meet her roommates before she went to bed last night, but she was so tired she immediately went to sleep and didn't hear them come in. And of course, they were up and already gone before she had gotten up for classes, leaving her by herself. It was times like that she wished she wasn't in a whole different dorm from Kendall and all the way across campus nonetheless.

"Hm, maybe I should've taken that tour yesterday," she commented to herself. '_I already want to day to be over and the entire school year just started. I don't think I can do this for that long_.'

She wanted to ask people for help, but they were walking by in groups and she suddenly felt smaller than she actually was instead of her normal self-confident attitude. And it was embarrassing to do something like that. For all she knew everyone could be judging her or make fun of her as soon as she left.

"Where am I going?" she asked, groaning to herself as she stopped walking. She pushed her backpack strap up her shoulder, letting out a breath of air.

"To homeroom like everyone else," a voice behind her replied. "You look kinda lost."

She turned and saw a dark haired, blue eyed boy walking over to her. He had his hair brushed down over his left eye, the ends dyed blonde. He also had a lip ring sticking out of his lip. He had on a black and yellow sleeveless hoodie, his muscled tanned arms coming out of the holes, and jean shorts with holes in them.

"Um, yeah," Katie replied with a fleeting smile. "I don't really know where I'm going."

"Well that much is obvious," the boy cracked, a smirk crossing his face. "You're new here aren't you? I think I've seen you before. You were in Craig Hall with, I think it was, your brother, right?"

"Kendall, yeah," Katie replied, brushing her hair behind her ear. She could feel a smile coming to her face and was prepared to mentally scold herself if it got too wide. She offered her hand for him to shake, but he quickly slapped her palm instead. "I'm Katie. Katie Knight."

"Patrick Jackson," he replied before his nose wrinkled up and he made a face. "Actually, it's Jackson-McGuire now." He then closed his eyes and shook his head before slowly making his way down the hall. Kate fell into step beside him. "You're a Freshman I take it so you're looking for Mrs. Summers' homeroom, yeah?"

Katie blinked when an accent suddenly coated his words. "Um, yeah," she replied, showing him his schedule. "Are you…from here?"

"You're talking about my accent," Patrick commented switching from an American accent to the one he used before. He used his shoulder to brush his hair out of his face. It swung back into his face, but he didn't make look like he was going to move it again. "I'm originally from Australia, than I moved here." He gave her an odd look.

"What?" she asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious. '_Do I have something in my teeth? Does my breath smell? Did I not put on enough deodorant_?'

"No offense, but normally people don't ask me where I'm from…they just know," he replied slowly. Still seeing the confused look on Katie's face, he quickly adopted a look of apology. "I'm sorry, you really don't know who I am."

"Uh, not really, sor-"

"Don't apologize; it's actually quite refreshing," Patrick replied with a shrug. "So, where are you from?"

"Minnesota," Katie replied, suddenly feeling a pang of homesickness hit her stomach. "It's kinda far from here. I'm still surprised my mom sent me here. I miss home."

"Everyone does until they find something to take their minds off it," Patrick replied, shrugging again.

"So, what do you do to get your mind off it?" Katie asked, looking up at him. The corner's of Patrick's mouth twitched up into a lopsided smile.

"I'm in a band," he replied shortly. "I play the bass...and the piano. Oh, and I sing too."

"Oh, that's cool! I wish I could play an instrument," Katie smiled, brushing her hair behind her ear again. She opened her mouth to ask him another question but Patrick's sudden loud outcry of "You jerk!" stopped her short.

Patrick ran down the hall and jumped onto the back of another boy before grabbing him in a headlock. A blond haired boy and a dark brown haired boy stood by, watching. "Whose idea was it to set my alarm clock back?" Patrick shouted, messing up the boy's hair. "That was _so _uncool!"

"Like you care if you're late for homeroom," the dark brown haired boy replied, pushing Patrick. "After, like, the 6th week of school you generally bail."

"Band stuff, dude, rehearsals in the morning," Patrick replied, with a small frown. He then grinned. "Jokes on you fools though." He then turned and smiled at Katie, who was watching the four boys, not sure if she should try and start a conversation with them or not. Only when she saw Patrick wave her over did she let out the breath she had no idea she was holding. "This is Katie Knight. Katie, this is Park,"

The dark brown haired boy turned and smiled at her and she found that he had dark green eyes and a dimple in his cheek. He had on a bright blue beanie (which reminded her of Kendall) and wore a blue flannel shirt, dark wash jeans, and flip flops.

"And this is Sol," Patrick continued, motioning over to the blond haired boy. Sol nodded his greeting, his light grey eyes glowing. He had a baseball cap backwards on his head, a single mole on his upper lip, a blank green t-shirt, cargo shorts, and flip flops.

"And this jerk is my twin brother, Noah," Patrick shoved Noah away from him. Noah laughed quietly before swinging his head to the side, moving his hair out of his face.

'_Yeah, they're twins alright_' Katie thought, looking Noah over.

Like Patrick, he had his black hair brushed down to cover one side of his face, but it was the right side for him. He had the ends of his hair dyed silver, almost white looking, and he had a single silver stud under his bottom lip. He had a black polo over a white t-shirt, a blue tie, and jean shorts.

"Hey," he greeted quietly. "New here?"

"Yeah, I'm from Minnesota," Katie replied. She jumped when a loud bell rang and she nearly dropped her backpack.

"You'll get used to it, don't worry," Park commented before sticking a piece of gum into his mouth. "Sit with us, we can tell you everything you need to know about this place." Noah pumped the door handle and ushered everything inside.

"First thing you need to know; Mrs. Summers hates it when anyone is late," he whispered into her ear. "First day is ok, but after that, you have to do something embarrassing in front of the whole class."

"You guys are freshmen too, right?" Katie asked, following them to empty seats. "How do you know so much about this?"

"Our sisters," Patrick and Noah replied in unison. "That, and we were homeschooled here before we registered, because our dad is a teacher here and it's easier for us to live in a suite than to have, like, two different places to live or whatev."

"Let me see your schedule," Park grabbed it from her before she could even say anything. His eyes widened as the bubble he blew popped, covering his mouth with lime green gum. "You're taking a lot of management and business classes for a freshman."

Katie shrugged, smiling to herself. It was no mystery that she loved money and wanted lots of it when she got older. What better way to figure out how to dominate a city than to learn as much as possible?

"Dude, she could rule the world one day," Park commented, sucking on his bottom lip. "Scary." Katie's grin got even wider. "And that smile is scarier. Kinda like that Gustavo Rocque dude." Katie looked around as all of the boys shuddered.

Patrick swiveled in his chair, draping his legs over the back of his chair. "Think bigfoot-"

"Bigger!" Park commented, taking out a pen before starting to draw a ring around his finger.

"Mad because you took his favorite doughnuts," Patrick added, throwing a nod in Park's direction. "While a bee, desperate hopefuls that want to become famous, keeps buzzing around his head and every time he goes to swat at it, he crushes a dream and dissolves everyone into an emotional mess!"

"And he's not over exaggerating," Noah added so quiet Katie almost missed it.

'_They may look a lot alike, but they're really different_' she thought as both twins turned in their chairs to answer to their name being called in role.

"Katherine Knight?"

"Katie," Katie immediately corrected the teacher, raising her hand into the air. The teacher nodded and jotted down a quick note as Katie rolled her eyes. '_You'd think they'd actually read the part on the transcript where I state what I prefer to go by_.'

"Hey, don't sweat it, everybody has names they hate to go by," Sol commented, pulling his hat off his head. He ran his fingers through his hair before shaking it out and placing his hat onto his head again. "Why do you think I go by Sol?"

"What _is _your first name?" Park asked, giving Sol an odd look as he lowered his hand, after showing that he was present in class.

"No one knows," he replied with a mysterious smile as the teacher continued through the rest of the names in the class and wishing everyone a great year.

The bell rang again; this time dismissing class instead of beginning it. Katie swiftly rose to her feet, taking her schedule back from Patrick and moseyed towards the door to hurry and get out to see where she was going next.

_Intro to Business. Jamison Building. Room 203. Martinez._

Katie turned to where she last saw Patrick, Noah, Park, and Sol was to ask where her next class was but she couldn't find them and that sad and alone feeling came back over her.

"Great," Katie muttered, letting out a sigh, tilting her head back. "Kendall would know where to go." She looked around as everyone rushed by her and let out a heavy sigh before following the flow of the crowd.

But, she had to congratulate herself. She was a shy person when it came to her talking to boys she thought were cute. And she was able to talk to four of them!

* * *

Katie was sitting on the stairs to the dinning building, licking an ice cream cone. Like the rest of her classes before hand, she was by herself as everyone else ambled past her in groups, talking and laughing.

"Katie!" She looked up and smiled when she saw Kendall, Carlos, James, and Logan making their way over to her. Soon, she felt safe and secure as her brother and his friends sat around her. "Hey, baby sis, how were your classes?"

"Dullsville, big brother," Katie replied, rolling her eyes. She then sighed and a sad look crossed her face, causing Kendall's heart to sink. "I was by myself all day. I met a few people, but they left after homeroom."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Kendall's smile faded a little bit as he pulled his sister into his side for a one-armed hug. He then took a quick lick of her chocolate ice cream. "Who were the people you met?"

"Um, four guys," Katie replied, scratching her forehead as she tried to remember. "Park, I don't know his last name, Sol, I don't his last name, and twin boys; Patrick and Noah Jackson-McGuire. They're in my homeroom."

"Yeah, we were just saying that their sisters, Riley and Rhuben were in our homerooms too," Logan nodded from where he was sitting, his back leaning against a pillar that held up the awning to the building. "I haven't seen them in years. They've gotten really big with their music lately."

Everyone jumped as Katie suddenly let out a high pitched shriek. "Geeze, Kates, I didn't know you could do that," James groaned, wiggling a finger in his ear, a pained look crossing his face. "What's your problem?"

"I met Patrick and Noah Jackson-McGuire," Katie replied. "From the band the DarkElements."

"So you said," Kendall replied, waving his hand, prompting her to continue with her point. "What's wrong?"

"I met someone _famous_," Katie replied. "I-I didn't even ask for an autograph!" She slapped herself on the forehead. "I was so worried about being lost I didn't even realize!" She groaned and tilted her head back to glare up at the sky. "Do you know how much _money_ those could go for?"

"Do you know how delicious your ice cream cone looks?" Carlos shot back, never taking his eyes off Katie's ice cream cone as she waved it around in the air. Katie rolled her eyes before handing him her ice cream, which he started to happily lick.

"I would've gladly given you an autograph if you asked," Patrick's voice reached Katie's ears and she turned around to face him and his brother, Noah, and who she knew was their sisters, Riley and Rhuben.

There was also a smaller boy standing behind Patrick's legs, peeking out from behind him, looking at all Katie, Kendall and their friends. Katie automatically recognized him as the youngest member of the band, Sydney Jackson-McGuire, the shyest out of all of them.

"But, I don't really condone selling it online for money," he added, an amused look on his face. "We don't charge people for autographs, and we don't want our fans to either."

"Oh, um, sorry," Katie blushed in embarrassment, bowing her head.

"No, _we're_ sorry," Patrick motioned between himself and Noah. "Sorry we bailed on you after class. Our class was on the other side of campus, we had to pick up a package from the post office, and our teacher isn't flexible about lateness, even on the first day."

"Landy, good to see you," Logan said, getting to his feet, smiling. He stepped forward and gave Riley and Rhuben a hug before slapping Noah on the shoulder in greeting. "You guys really grew up since the last time I saw you." He then put his hands on his knees and bent over, smiling at Sydney. "And you must be Sydney."

Sydney nodded, still peeking out from behind Patrick's legs. Patrick sighed and placed his hand on Sydney's head, running his fingers through his hair. "You don't remember me, but I'm Logan Mitchell," Logan offered his hand to the small boy. "I was your sister's friend when you lived in Texas."

"Hi," Sydney replied shyly, taking Logan's hand in his own small one, giving a fleeting smile, little imprints, appearing on his cheeks when he smiled, showing a hint of his dimples.

"And these are my friends, James Diamond, Carlos Garcia, Kendall Knight, and his sister, Katie," Logan added sweeping his arm out to the side. His friends gave small waves when his name was called. He then turned back to Sydney. "You're kinda young to be taking classes here aren't you?"

"He's a genius," Riley replied, rolling her eyes once she spotted Sydney's smile get wider. "He gets homeschooled some days and other days he takes classes with everyone else. He gets a lot of flack for it, but Pat and No always stick up for him." Patrick and Noah smiled proudly as Sydney hugged Patrick around the waist.

"So, how was your first day?" Rhuben asked as a smirk crossed her face. "Sick of school yet?"

"Man, who gives out homework on the first day of school?" Carlos asked, wiping excess ice cream off his face with the back of his hand. "That's inhuman!"

"And we don't have our school books yet, so there's no way we can complete it," Logan added, shaking his head.

"I take it you still love school," Riley commented, rolling her eyes. "Still wanting to be a doctor, I take it?" Her lips twitched when he nodded. "We know a few websites where you can get the books cheap and shipped to you quickly."

"It's saved our arses loads of times," Rhuben added.

"Hang on, if you're Australian, why are you speaking with an American accent?" James asked, running his fingers through his hair. "Accents are hot? Why change it?"

"Thanks for the compliment," Patrick stated, smiling his lopsided smile. "It was hard for people to understand us when we first arrived so we picked up the American accent. But, we can switch back and forth pretty quickly." James blinked when he heard Patrick flip flop the accents he used, proving his point.

"You guys done for the day?"

Kendall blinked, almost missing seeing Noah's lips move, or hear him ask the question. He had never heard anyone speak so quietly before. Just by looking at him, Kendall could tell that he was the kind that was quiet and more to themselves.

"Yeah, but we were going to check out some of the clubs and stuff," he replied, exchanging nods with his friends. "Y'know, to find out what we want to do here."

"What about you guys?" Katie asked, using her hand to shield her face from the sun.

"We're done around 11:30 every day," Riley replied with a shrug. She grinned for a split second when she got a chorus of 'No fairs' from everyone else. "Can't have too much of a course load with our careers and everything."

"You see! That's another plus side to being famous!" James shouted, an excited look crossing his face. "Less school work! We could all go for that."

"School work is important, it helps us learn how to apply everything to our lives outside of school," Logan protested, crossing his arms over his chest.

"We were going to go to the RAT to meet up with our friends," Rhuben stated, ignoring James and Logan's outbursts. "You met them earlier today. Wanna come with us?"

She blinked and turned to Riley when she felt her sister pinch her back. Rhuben turned and gave Riley a questioning look and Riley gave her a hard stare in reply. The two of them had a silent conversation and Sydney tugged on Riley's shirt, giving her a wide-eyed look. Riley stared back at him before she let out a sigh, nodding slightly. "Riles and Pat can't stay long as they have surf practice later."

"You're on the surf team?" James asked as the Jacksons started down the stairs. "That's cool, I surf too."

"Awesome," Riley replied, the bored look crossing her face once again.

The group of teenagers headed across the campus and towards…wherever The RAT was. Sydney grabbed Riley's arm pulling her back a few paces. He gave her a questioning look, raising her eyebrows.

"You're doing it again," he said in a low voice. "You're doing that…push away thing again."

"Force of habit, can't help it," Riley replied, twisting her mouth to the side. "You know I don't do well with new people."

"Logan's not new people," Sydney pointed out. Riley chuckled and ran her fingers through his hair.

"But, I barely know him, I haven't seen him in years," Riley replied and then crossed her arms over her chest. "And you don't even remember him as you were one when we left Texas."

"But you want more friends don't you?" Sydney asked. It was a simple question. One that actually left Riley speechless. "It'll be fine. Dad's gone and we've got Ronan. We said we'd be happy. This is our first step."

* * *

**A/N: I wanted to focus on Katie and how she was feeling during all of this and i think i did a good job with getting inside her head. Sorry it took so long to update this story. I hope you liked it! So, what would you like to see in this story? They are at school so the possibilities are endless!  
**

**Cheers,**

**-Rhubes**


	6. Chapter 6: Big Time Sports Practice

**.:Chapter Six – Big Time Sports Practice:.**

**

* * *

**"So, again, we're sorry that we were playing some sort of limbo with meeting each other," Jo apologized as she pulled her hair up into a ponytail, slamming her gym locker door shut. "It was actually kind of rude of us, since you're a freshman and you probably have a lot of questions about everything." She waved to some girls that she knew as they walked by, holding onto tennis rackets.

"Well, kinda," Katie replied as she closed her gym locker door and locked it before bending down and tying her shoelaces together. "I did have some questions, but Patrick and Noah helped me." She shrugged.

"Well, what classes are you taking?" Camille asked from where she and Stephanie were sitting on a bench, waiting for her and Jo to finish getting changed. "I mean, earlier you explained that you weren't much of a performer, so what kinds of things are you interested."

"Money," Katie replied without even having to think about it for a second. "I love money, and everything that has to do with money." She grinned as she turned to the other girls. "And I'm taking a lot of business classes so I could get to understand more about how businesses are done and how to get money and stuff like that."

"Remind me to never get you mad," Stephanie stated with a laugh. "You know, just in case I eventually work for you or will potentially have my film studio bought out by you."

"Yeah, keep that in mind," Katie joked in return. "One day I'm going to take over the world."

"I don't doubt that." Camille agreed. "So are you girls ready for field hockey practice?" she asked as she grabbed her field hockey stick and twirled it in her hands.

"Ugh, not really," Katie made a face of disgust. "I wanted to play girl's lacrosse in the spring, but my mom and my brother say that I'm not allowed to."

"Why's that?" Jo wrinkled her nose as she thought about it.

"Let's just say that I'm not completely in love with the rule that you're not allowed to hit people." Katie replied as she thought about it for a second. "So I should be able to deal with my anger through this sport." She then grinned. "Meaning that I can pretend to hit someone's face when they bug me, and for now I would say that it would be Carlos." She smiled as the other girls laughed, pleased.

She was afraid that being a freshman while her roommates were juniors was going to be weird, but after Sydney introduced her to the three girls, and after Jo, Camille, and Stephanie apologized for not introducing themselves the first day, they all got to know each other and realized they had a lot in common. Katie, at first, wondered how she was in a dorm with juniors, but then Stephanie explained that there was an influx of freshmen and the all freshmen dorms filled up fast and that was how she was with them. But Katie always knew how to become friends with people that were older than her, the guys were her best friend and her main source of entertainment, so she knew it wouldn't be that hard. And she was right.

The girls walked out of the gym complex and started to walk across the campus over to the sports fields were the field hockey team was going to practice. The girls chatted as they went along, their cleats making clacking sounds as they walked.

"Hey girls," Dak greeted with a smile as he walked up to them and walked alongside them, dressed in a t-shirt and shorts and carrying a soccer ball, his cleats clacking on the ground as well. "How's it going?"

"Rhuben's not here," Camille remarked, smirking.

"I noticed," Dak replied smoothly. "But you girls are my friends too." He then noticed Katie and gave a bright grin, holding out his hand. "Hi, I'm-"

"Dak Zevon, I know who you are," Katie replied, blushing a little as she took his hand and shook it. She nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled back. "It's nice to meet you. I'm, uh, I'm a big fan."

"Aw, thank you." Dak grinned. "But I'm just a regular guy, trying to get an education while working at the same time."

"How's that…going by the way?" Katie asked and made a face, realizing how stupid she sounded. "I mean, school and everything?" she finished lamely.

"School is school," Dak made a face as he thought about it. "There are times where I like it, times where it bores the crap out of me." He smiled as Jo, Camille, and Stephanie laughed in agreement. "Especially with Ms. Gordon."

"Yep"

"You're definitely right there"

"Gotta agree with you"

Katie scrunched her eyebrows at the unanimous reply. "Is she really that bad?" she questioned, feeling out of the loop in two ways. In one way she felt like a tag-along little sister, in another way she felt even more like a new student.

"She's the worst." Dak corrected. "Do me a favor and don't get her for any of your classes, she'll bore you to death." He then looked around to make sure that no one was listening before putting a hand beside his mouth. "Plus rumor has it that she picks a student that she hates every year and will give them an F no matter what. So don't fall on her bad side."

"Thanks for the advice." Katei replied with a short smile and a nod.

"No problem," Dak replied and looked at his watch. "Well I have to go; I have the ball bag duty this week. I'll catch you girls later." He spun the soccer ball that was in his hands, gave the girls a short wave, and hurried off.

"A little star struck?" Jo asked teasingly.

"No!" Katie snapped back in reply, feeling shy. "But I'm a girl, he's kinda cute," Katie ignored her contradictory thought and continued. "I'm not made of stone you know."

"If you say so," Camille replied in a sing-song voice, smiling widely. "But you should know that Park and Sol _and_ Patrick and Noah play soccer as well."

"What makes you think I would want to know that?" Katie asked, and then thought about it. "Wait, I thought Patrick said he was on the surf team."

"He is," Jo agreed. "He is on the surf team and soccer team, Riley is on the surf team and cross country team, Rhuben is on the wakeboard team and cross country team, and Noah is on the wakeboard team and soccer team."

"They go to each practice every other day and the one that they can't make, they practice themselves." Stephanie replied, nodding. "Sometimes I don't see how they're able to do all of that, school work, and be in a band, but they're used to it from the way that they lived before Ronan adopted them."

"What do you mean?" Katie asked.

"It's nothing," Camille replied. "It's really something for them to tell you."

"Alright."

The girls headed onto the field and continued to talk about nothing in particular as they waited for the coach. When the coach got there, she explained the expectations of the team; the grade that you had to maintain to stay on the team, and got them hyped up about winning the states tournament that they were trying for that year. Then each girl went around stating who they were, where they were from, and what grade they were in. Katie could tell that the coach wanted them to become like a family and not just girls from different grades playing together.

Then they were let lose to start running laps around the field.

And as she ran, Katie couldn't help but let her eyes wander over to the soccer field every now and then.

* * *

"So what am I going to do guys?" James asked as he stood next to his friends by the ice rink as they laced up their skates. "I want to do this, but I want to try out for the surf team as well."

"I'm not sure if you're aware of it James, but there haven't been any oceans in Minnesota for like…ever." Logan stated as he grabbed his hockey stick and stood up, already feeling comfortable being back in his ice skates again. "So when have you been able to get good a surfing?"

"The many trips that my dad took to his muscle man convention things." James replied with of a wave of his hand. Logan had to agree to that. Mr. Diamond was a body builder, anyone that looked at him could see that, and he constantly competed in competitions for it and won. It was probably why James cared about his looks so much. "And there were _so many_ good looking girls there, that I picked it up pretty fast."

"Yeah," Kendall made a grunting sound of agreement. "I can see where the motivation came from." He grinned as he stood up and took a deep breath, bringing in the smell of the cool air of the ice and the smell of sweat. "Ah, don't you just love that smell?"

"Yeah, isn't it great?" Carlos grinned and draped an arm around Kendall's shoulder and motioned to the ice rink just as a guy got checked into the boards. "Don't you just _love_ that sound?" He slapped Kendall on the shoulder and the four boys laughed as the guy that had slammed the other guy into the boards looked over at them and took his helmet off.

"Don't tell me you jokers are going to be playing on this team." WayneWayne stated as he rubbed sweat off of his forehead. Kendall frowned when he saw that it was WayneWayne. Unfortunately for Kendall, Logan, Carlos, and James WayneWayne was in most (if not all) of their classes and seemed to have decided that he was going to torture them.

It was only the first day (the guys were sort of annoyed to know that they were expected to have sports practice on the first day of school) and WayneWayne had sent a jab their way each and every time he had seen them. Even when they were hanging out with Jo, Camille, Stephanie, Katie, Riley, Rhuben, Patrick, Noah, and Sydney, he had come around and made fun of them.

"We'll see who the joke is when we get on the ice!" Kendall shot back, not liking it whenever someone made fun of his friends. He could handle it when someone made fun of him, he didn't even really care, but he drew the line when his friends were brought in it.

"Why don't we go now?" WayneWayne raised his eyebrows as he backed away from the boards, raising his eyebrows as he went.

"Kendall, dude, you don't have to-"Logan started to try and calm his friend down, but knew from the flash in Kendall's green eyes that he was too far gone.

"Oh, I have to!" Kendall replied and grabbed his helmet from the bench and walked over to the opening of the rink. He slapped the helmet on his head and skated onto the ice, easily going in a circle around the rink, gathering the attention of the other boys that were going to try out for the team. "If this guy thinks that he's going to push us around, he has another thing coming."

"Then bring it, Kendork!" WayneWayne taunted as he grabbed a hockey puck and moved it to the center of the ice.

Kendall smiled under his hockey helmet and brought his stick down onto the ice and stood in front of WaynWayne. He took a deep breath and then let it out as Logan skated over to the two of them and explained the quick rules; first to get a goal, anything goes.

"Go Kendall!" James cheered.

"C'mon dude, you can totally beat him!" Carlos shouted, banging his fists on the glass for emphasis. He and James then started hollering and jumping up and down, smashing their fists against the glass, as if they were at an actual hockey game.

"You guys ready?" Logan asked, an arm raised up in the air, and Kendall and WayneWayne nodded. "Go!"

Kendall quickly won the face-off and shot across the ice to get to the goal. WayneWayne came up behind him and quickly cut in front of him, a hand down on the ice to keep him up, and he took the puck and started to go back towards the other goal. Kendall cursed a little bit and skated after WayneWayne as fast as he could. He quickly caught up and slammed him into the boards, trying to keep him pinned there, as he battled for the puck as hard as he could. WayneWayne elbowed back towards his stomach, trying to get him to back off. Finally, the puck slipped away from WayneWayne and Kendall nabbed it and skated back over to the other side of the rink.

WayneWayne never stood a chance.

Kendall moved his skates to the side, stopping, and took a quick look at the net before taking a shot. Goal.

"Whoo!" Kendall shouted as he punched the air with his fist.

WayneWayne let out a curse as he slammed the stick on the ice, his stick immediately breaking in half. Logan, James, and Carlos cheered wildly as Kendall skated back over to them and he was soon enveloped in hugs and pats on the back. The other guys that were trying out for the team was clapping as well. There was a sharp blast of a whistle and everyone fell silent as the coach walked over to the guys on the ice.

He looked like a regular coach, graying hair which was trying to be covered by a baseball cap, big cheeks, a big gut, and short legs. He had a whistle around his neck and was wearing regular shoes. Even though he was small, he commanded attention and he definitely got it as he walked onto the ice.

"You," he pointed to Kendall. "What's your name?"

"Kendall Knight, sir." Kendall quickly replied, taking off his helmet and wiping the sweat off of his forehead.

"And you?" he pointed over to WayneWayne.

"It's WayneWayne," he replied with a short nod.

"Your real name, son," The coach insisted as he looked hard at WayneWayne. "No one would name their son WayneWayne."

"…It's Wally Dooley," WayneWayne replied quickly and then spoke up when he heard James and Carlos starting to laugh. "But I prefer to go by WayneWayne."

"Whatever," The coach looked back and forth between the two boys. "You boys showed what I want for my boys on the hockey team." He then zeroed in on Kendall. "You're exactly what I'm looking for in a Captain. I can tell from the way that you fought for that puck that you're not willing to give up on something that you're going for and you're determined to win." He held out a hand as Kendall's eyes widened. "Are you in?"

"Yeah," Kendall replied after a second and then took off his glove and grabbed the coach's hand. "Yeah, that would be great."

"Good." The coach let go of Kendall's hand and stuck a whistle in his mouth and blew it sharply. "Listen up!" his loud voice echoed off of the walls of the ice rink. "I'm the hockey coach, Coach Anderson. Seeing how many of you that we have out here, we're not going to hold tryouts and everyone is going to make the team," he held up his hands as the guys started to make sounds of gratefulness. "But that doesn't mean that I'm not going to work you hard. Some of you haven't worked for this in a long time." He looked at his watch. "Since today is the first practice and I know that some of you want to see other sports teams, for the next hours you're going to do a few drills to show me how you're doing." He picked up his whistle and blew it again. "Suicides, go!"

"Congrats, Kendall!" Logan slapped Kendall on the back, grinning. "Only you can become the captain of the team before the season even starts."

"The leader as always," James agreed. "Just as you're meant to be."

"And with my friends on the team as well, what can go wrong?" Kendall asked.

"Um, having WayneWayne on the team," Carlos stated as he pointed to him, he was charging back and forth across the ice, easily pulling ahead of everyone else. "He's probably going to be really, _really_ pissed off at you now." He frowned and bit his thumbnail. "He's probably going to be annoying us even more now."

"Oh come on," Kendall rolled his eyes. "There hasn't been anyone that has come to face us that we haven't been able to put in his place…together." He lightly pushed Carlos in the chest. "If all of us are together, we'll be fine."

"But he _is _pretty intimidating." Logan stated, sounding a little worried.

"Yeah, he is a bad boy and everything," James agreed and then thought about it for a second. "Not that I couldn't be the bad boy, but you have to use so much gel in your hair and that can actually be really bad for it. It can cause your hair to suffocate, you know?"

"Ignoring the completely wrong facts about the hair," Logan shoved James away from him. "He's going to really be after you now, dude." He shook his head. "You might want to watch your back."

"I'll be fine." Kendall rolled his eyes.

Coach Anderson blew the whistle again. "You better get started or I'll make you do six inches with all of your gear on!" he shouted towards the four boys and they quickly scrambled to get in line.

* * *

**A/N: Kind of a short chapter, but I wanted to show how their first day at their sports practices would go for them before we got into their going through teenage things while in school. I hope that you guys liked it anyway. What would you guys like to see in this story?**

**-Riley**


	7. Chapter 7: Big Time Adjusting

**~Chapter Seven – Big Time Adjusting~**

* * *

"Hey, Katie, I'm glad I caught up with you."

Katie slowed to a stop and turned around faced Noah, a smile coming to her face as she pushed a lock of her hair behind her ears. He skidded to a stop beside her and breathed heavily, his cheeks red. "Yeah? What for?" She then squinted as she peered at him. "You look wiped out."

"Yeah, you would too if you had soccer practice than band rehearsal, visiting your brother, homework, some TV, and then going to bed," Noah listed off, tucking his books under his arm as he counted on his fingers. He then shrugged and smiled peacefully. "Just haven't fallen back into my sleep pattern, the summer threw me off."

"Yeah, I understand that," Katie laughed a little bit. And she did. She always woke up early over the summer vacation. Mainly that was to fill the day with as much fun stuff as possible, but it was also a way for her to get the bigger TV in her house before Kendall could get it. "Why were you looking for me?"

"You've got your first business class today," Noah replied as if it was obvious. He slid his backpack off one shoulder and used his teeth to unzip it before dumping his books into it and closing it back up. "My dad teaches it. I wanted to introduce you before class started. I need to talk to him anyway."

"Oh," Katie blinked in surprise. '_How did he know that_?'

"My dad's a teacher here, I look at his stuff all the time," Noah explained, finally regaining control of his breathing. His voice dropped back to its usual quiet tone. "Just don't tell him…or anyone else for that matter."

"Secret's safe with me," Katie grinned, making a "zip the lips and throw away the key" motion. "So, what, did you run all the way over here to meet me?"

"You didn't get my message?" Noah asked, a confused look crossing his face as the two of them started walking across the campus. Noah waved at a few people he passed, he slapped high fives to some people, and nodded at others. "I didn't know what your dorm number was but I got Kendall's through Logan through Riles and asked him to tell you to wait for me at the fountain this morning.

'_He must be pretty popular here, Patrick too_' Katie thought, shifting her gaze to her feet. "Oh, he was pretty upset about something the other day, and he doesn't really think straight when he's mad. I think he just forgot."

"Riles is the same way," Noah chuckled, leading the way to a big white building called Whitescarver. He rushed ahead of her and pulled open the door, motioning for her to go in before him. He then took the stairs up to the second floor two at a time and made his way into a classroom. "Hey, daddy."

Katie normally thought it was weird for people at a certain age to continue to call their dad, "daddy" but something about Noah saying it was cute to her. It was boyish, and comparing that to his calm, cool, collected teenager attitude was a great juxtaposition.

Ronan McGuire looked up from his laptop and gave his son a surprised look before giving him a smile, leaning back in his chair. "Hey, Noah, what are you doing here?" he asked, getting to his feet, straightening his shirt. Katie immediately noticed that unlike Noah, Ronan didn't speak with an accent. "You don't take any classes with me."

"And I don't really plan on it, no offense," Noah replied giving Ronan a hug. "I wanted to introduce you to one of your students. This is Katie, a new friend of ours. She's in your class."

"So, _you're_ Katie Knight," Ronan gave Katie a warm smile as he shook her hand. "The only freshman in my class. But, don't be intimidated by it, I've had most of my students more than once and they're all pretty chill."

"Thanks," Katie replied quietly, forcing a smile to her face.

"Ronan's class is pretty boss, you'll like it," Noah explained, placing a hand on his dad's shoulder. "For an exam, you get to play Monopoly. If you beat him, you get an A." Katie's eyes lit up at the thought. "We've been guinea pigs for his class for a while now."

"And by now you know a lot about the business world and not to jump into signing contracts without reading them," Ronan explained, arching an eyebrow at his son. "So, despite being in my class you still learn something." He then snapped his fingers. "Oh, pass this along to Riles, yeah?"

"Yeah," Noah replied, holding out his hand as Ronan pressed a note card into it. His eyebrows raised as he silently read the handwriting on the note before looking up at his dad.

"Tomorrow at lunch, this is what you're performing," Ronan explained, making his way back to the front of the desk. He leaned against his desk, crossing his arms over his chest. Katie stood on her tip toes to look at the note card. "Patrick has to sing the bass line."

"Celebrate good times, come on," Noah sang out loud, his lips twitching up into a smile. Katie smiled as well. "Let's celebrate, baby, yeah."

'_Wow, he really can sing well_' she thought, looking up at him. Seeing Ronan glance at her out of the corner of her eye, she tried to lessen how wide her smile is. She felt herself blush in embarrassment and shifted her gaze to the floor.

"That'll be hard for him, but he could pull it off, I reckon," Noah slapped the note card against his open palm a few times. "Pat and I were wondering something."

"Oh, you know I hate conversations that start with that," Ronan stated, his eyes narrowing slightly. He then let out a heavy sigh. "What is it?"

"Could we go over to Julius's tonight?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. "Brittany's back in town after her internship thing and we want to see her. All of us. We don't have a class tomorrow morning so, Riles and Rhubes could bring back Syd and Pat and I could go over after surfing and wakeboarding practice and spend the night and we could take the bus back." Ronan put a hand to his chin and Noah rushed on. "He already said it was ok, and he has the guest room set up for us. He just wanted to make sure you were ok with it."

"I'll give him a call and then I'll tell you later," Ronan replied. "But, I don't want you to start spending all of your time over there, hindering their studies _and _yours. Last time you-"

"Yeah, yeah, but that was Patrick's fault," Noah grinned at his dad.

"Somehow, I doubt Patrick alone could have thought about making a Slip N Slide start in the house and go outside to the pool," Ronan commented.

"Admit it, it was cool, and you wanted to do it yourself," Noah's smile got wider. Ronan chuckled, not even bothering to deny that fact.

"Is that all you wanted?" Ronan asked as he checked his watch. "Classes are about to start and yours are halfway across campus."

"Always bring my skates," Noah shook his backpack. "Yeah, that was all. Call anytime past 1:10, kay?"

"Got it," Ronan replied. Noah grinned and turned to go, but Ronan stopped him as he called his name. He wordlessly pointed underneath Noah's chin. Noah rolled his eyes and obediently pulled out his piercings as he headed out of the room. "Tell Patrick to do the same!"

"Yeah, yeah," Noah waved his hand in the air as he left.

"Take a seat, Katie, something tells me you're really going to like this class," Ronan stated as he motioned to many of the tables in the room.

Katie smiled as she went to take a seat, but she made a mental not to herself, as she took her books out of her backpack, to ask Noah or Patrick, or any of the Jacksons, why they had accents and Ronan didn't. She knew that they were adopted, but something still bothered her about it. She just couldn't put her finger on what it was.

* * *

"Hey."

WayneWayne looked up from the script that sat in his lap and smiled as Dak took the seat next to him. The two of them were in the auditorium for one of their theater classes. Dak had previously been the star of a few musicals at the school and WayneWayne wanted to improve his acting skills and decided to take the class.

WayneWayne was knew to the school, but he had shown up for the class before and Dak was the first to introduce himself and give him the rundown of how everything worked and about the teachers that worked with the class, drama club, and the performances. WayneWayne wasn't sure what it was, but he was comfortable being around Dak and was assured that he would actually want to be a friend to him.

"You look _horrible_," Dak commented as he looked WayneWayne up and down. "What'd you do? Get run over by a tractor?"

"I feel like it," WayneWayne groaned. He was too tired to even roll his eyes! His muscles were sore and screamed with pain at every small movement. "I tried out for the hockey team the other day. I made it."

"You don't sound too happy," Dak pointed out.

"I would be if that…_kid _wasn't automatically crowned captain," WayneWayne snapped, inadvertently crushing his script in his hands. Dak gave him a confused look and WayneWayne explained everything to him; how he had challenged Kendall and his friends, how he and Kendall were both offered spots on the team, and how Kendall was named captain. "I don't think I can stand a minute taking orders from him!"

"You're going to have to put that aside if you want to keep your spot on the team and you want the team to win," Dak stated, giving his friend a concerned look. "They haven't really done anything to you. Why don't you like them? They're really not bad at all."

"Alright, everybody! I hope you have your monologues memorized!" the acting teacher Mr. Hackett called out loudly as he clapped his hands together to get everyone's attention.

"Whatever," WayneWayne muttered, dropping the subject automatically. '_I just can't stand him! He thinks he's so much better than everybody else! He thinks he plays hockey as well as Wayne Gretsky or something_!'

"Ah, Miss Jackson and Miss Roberts, nice to finally have you show up," Mr. Hackett got WayneWayne's attention with the sudden call. He, and everyone else, turned in their seats and watched as Riley Jackson and Camille Roberts made their way down the aisles.

"Sorry about that, Mr. H, I had to take my little brother over to my older brother's apartment," Riley explained, arching an eyebrow. She then gave a over the top sweet smile. "It won't happen again, I promise. I would never want to miss a single minute of this delightful class."

"it's an over kill, stop talking now," Dak said with a half smile, motioning for the two girls to sit with him. "So, why were you late, Camille? You're never late."

"Oh, she pretty much kidnapped me saying, 'If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me'," Camille replied, contorting her face as she raised her voice up an octave, mocking Riley as she and her friend dropped into two seats behind Dak and WayneWayne.

"Sounds just like her," Dak stated, giving Riley a teasing smile. "You just left out the bossy aspect of her personality." Camille laughed as Riley stuck her tongue out at him. "Anyway, this is Wally-uh, WayneWayne, he's new here and-"

"Wally Dooley?" Camille asked, her eyes widening slightly as WayneWayne turned around to facethe two girls giving a small wave.

"WayneWayne, please," WayneWayne immediately corrected her, before doing a double take. "Camille?"

"Yeah, wow, I didn't know you were coming here!" Camille smiled as she and WayneWayne got to their feet, giving each other a hug. Riley exchanged glances with Dak, who shrugged in reply.

"I take it you know each other," Dak stated as they dropped back down into their seats.

"We used to work on Magic Middle School together," Camille replied, brushing her wavy hair behind her ears. She then nudged Riley in the side. "Wow, small world. Everyone seems to be meeting up with old friends nowadays." She smiled back at WayneWayne, tilting her head in Riley's direction. "Wally-"

"WayneWayne."

"This is-"

"I know who he is," Riley stated shortly, much to the surprise of everyone else. "We did a commercial together once." She looked indifferent about seeing him again, which was completely the opposite of Camille's reaction. "Nice to see you again-" A smirk slid across her face as she adopted a look of amusement. "_WayneWayne_."

"Yeah, likewise," WayneWayne gave a short nod, looking her over.

"So, you were the one that was giving Kendall and them a hard time at the hockey try outs," Riley stated, getting straight to the point, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I see you still butt into other peoples' business," WayneWayne arched an eyebrow back at her, getting annoyed all over again. '_Why'd she even have to bring them up? What does she care anyway? This has nothing to do with her_?' "What do you care? WayneWayne doesn't have to answer to anybody."

"It's my business because Logan's and old friend of mine," Riley replied, taking up his same posture, staring him down, an eyebrow raised. She never backed down from a challenge as she hated it when someone got into her face, or told her what to do, or even threw an attitude in her direction. "And I don't take it lightly when people are mean to my friends."

"Apparently you've never removed the stick from your ass all these years," WayneWayne shot back, getting even more and more mad at every second. "You're still uptight as ever, just like your dad."

Riley's face contorted into a look of rage before she got up from her seat, storming over to Mr. Hackett. She said something to him before heading up onstage, disappearing into the wings. Dak and Camille stared in shock at WayneWayne as he turned to face the front of the room, crossing his arms over his chest.

"_What_?" he asked sharply, feeling their gaze locked on him.

"I've never seen anyone get into a fight with Riles like that," Dak commented, before laughing a little bit. "You're really going to get it now, dude."

"What about the guys do you not like? They seem really nice," Camille stated, moving to take the seat next to WayneWayne. "You don't really know them."

"Whatever," WayneWayne crossed his arms over his chest as Mr. Hackett started the class. '_She got really ticked off when I mentioned her dad. I wonder what's going on in that department? One thing's for sure, she's…interesting. No one's ever thought about yelling back at me before._' A small, wicked smile spread across his face. '_This should be fun_.'

"What's that smile for?" Camille whispered into his ear.

"Nothing," WayneWayne replied, immediately relaxing the muscles around his mouth, adopting an apathetic look. "Nothing at all." He tilted his head to the side and whispered, "So, she's in that band right? The Elements or something like that?"

"DarkElements, yeah," Dak whispered back. "They all come here, their music producer, Ronan, is a teacher here and teaches some classes. They perform sometimes too."

"Huh," WayneWayne nodded, watching as a boy in the class with a Mohawk and three ear piercings walked out into the middle of the stage to deliver his monologue. "So, where'd she go?"

"Well, she's not exactly registered for this class," Camille whispered back to him. "She comes every now and then to get some tips around the time there's commercials or TV spots she and her siblings have to do. She's also stage manager for all of the plays."

"For someone in the music business, you'd think she'd love being in the spotlight," WayneWayne stated, slumping in his chair.

"Yeah," Dak replied shortly, turning to exchange a look with Camille over the top of WayneWayne's head. "You'd think."

* * *

"Hey James, hey Logie, what are you doing over here?" Rhuben asked as she and Stephanie made their way into the gym. She immediately spotted the two friends as the two girls walked into the building,

"Thinking of trying out for a team or something?" Stephanie asked as the two boys greeted the two girls with a smile.

"Oh wait, wait, let me guess, Logie, you want to be the manager of a team," Rhuben suggested, a teasing smile on her face.

"Ha ha," Logan rolled his eyes as James and Stephanie started to laugh. "Actually, we were looking for you or Riles."

"You were?" Rhuben's eyebrows raised in a curious look. "Why?"

"We were thinking of trying out for the surf and wakeboarding teams," James replied, motioning to himself and then to Logan. "You guys are on the team so we figured we'd ask you the questions we have."

"Alright, go ahead," Rhuben replied, shifting her backpack on her back. "What do you want to know?"

"Well, basically, when do you practice, how long for, what do you have to do for tryouts, when are tryouts, where do we get equipment, and why-"

"One at a time, please, Logie," Rhuben stated, putting her hand up as a pained expression crossed her face. "Geeze, I forgot how much you rambled whenever you really wanted to know something. Um, practice is every day from 3:00-5:00 in the afternoons, if you have a surfboard and all that, that's great, but they will supply you some if you can't get any, tryouts are next week, and really basic stuff."

"I didn't know you guys knew how to do that," Stephanie stated, giving James and Logan a smile. She gave a half smile. "Especially since there are no oceans in Minnesota."

"Although you _do _have the body type for it," Rhuben stated, not even bothering to hide her smile as she looked James up and down.

"Why thank you," James grinned back at her, giving a small bow. "I'm glad somebody noticed. Especially someone as beautiful as yourself."

"Thanks for that," Rhuben replied, smirking as Logan gave her a 'Don't-boost-his-ego' look. "I suggest if you want to see what practices are like, you find the coaches and tag along. I actually can't go today because I teach a dance class downtown and I have to cover a shift for someone. But, my brothers and sisters are going so you can hang out with them."

"Awesome thanks," Logan smiled at his friend. "So, you still love to dance then?"

"Haven't really stopped," Rhuben replied. "Steph is coming with me to take a videos so I can try and get a hip hop club started here."

"And I like to dance as well, so I'm hoping that we get approval so I can join," Stephanie added, twisting her straight hair up into a ponytail. "I'm so busy working towards my film major that I don't have enough time to take classes or anything, so this could really help me out."

"We'd love to see you perform sometime," Logan gave both girls a warm smile. "I'm sure you're pretty awesome."

"No kidding," Rhuben chuckled, silently referring to the fact that she and her brothers and sister dance as part of their gimmick for their band. "Anyway, I can introduce you to the coaches before we go if you want."

"Not if you want to get downtown on time, there's bad traffic at this time of day," Stephanie shook her head as she pointed to the large clock that hung up on the wall.

"That's ok, I'm sure we'll find them, you better get going, I don't want you to be late," Logan stated as he stepped forward to give his friend a hug. "See you girls later."

"Bye," Rhuben and Stephanie both waved as they made their way out of the building. They walked over to the bus stop and sat down on the bench, waiting for the school shuttle to pull up. "Thanks for coming on such short notice. How was your day today?"

"Oh, it's no problem girlie," Stephanie waved her hand in the air. "Besides, this could help me towards a project or something, you never know. And my day was fine, Carlos is in my cooking class, so at least I know someone there."

"Do you think he's cute?" Rhuben asked, getting to the point. "Or any of the new guys, really."

"Can't deny that they all are," Stephanie laughed, shifting her camera bag around her shoulder. "And they're all cute in different ways. James obviously cares a lot about how he looks, Kendall is cute in a 'I-don't-care-what-you-think-i-love-myself' kind of way, Logan is cute in the book smarts sense, and Carlos is fun loving and loves to have a good time."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking," Rhuben replied. Then her mouth twisted to the side. "I've known Logan for years, so it's weird for me to say that I think he's cute. But, he really is! He's really matured over the years we've been apart."

"Do you think he's cuter than, oh, I don't know, Dak Zevon?" Stephanie asked, laughing as Rhuben playfully shoved her. She loved bringing up Dak to see what Rhuben really thought of him and to just try and get under her skin. One minute she could be totally reserved about her feelings and then there are times where she couldn't get her friend to shut up. "He really likes you, ya know."

"Yeah, I know," Rhuben nodded before letting out a sigh. "But, you know why it's hard for me. I mean, he's really sweet, and nice, and smart, and funny, and he's a great friend."

"But, it's hard for you to trust guys what with…everything that's happened," Stephanie agreed, nodding her head. "Don't worry, things will get better for you and for Riley too. Just wait and see."

"You noticed then," Rhuben stated, giving her friend a curious look. "What happened in drama? Dak told me."

"About Riley's fight with that WayneWayne guy?" Stephanie asked and Rhuben nodded. "Yeah, Camille told me. Apparently she and WayneWayne used to do a TV show before, but he wasn't that mean before he came here. He made a remark about your dad that really got her ticked off." Rhuben frowned when she heard that. "But, you've got to cut him some slack as he doesn't know." She then peered over at her friend. "Neither does Dak for that matter."

"I'll tell him eventually," Rhuben promised, tucking her legs underneath her as she glanced at her watch. "I just…I think it's going to scare him away or something. I don't know, I mean, I'm happier now. I don't want to bring it up 'cause I don't want to think about it, and I'm afraid of what he's going to say."

"Dak is sweet, you said so yourself, and I've learned it first hand," Stephanie reassured her friend. "Remember last year when we were doing the Walk, Run Swim, to raise money for our class treasurer and you somehow convinced me to run a cross country race with you and Riles? And I fell during the race and twisted my leg, but you were too far ahead to know, and he came back and ran the rest of the race, carrying me on his back?"

"Yeah, I remember," Rhuben laughed at the memory. "He only signed up to impress me with how fast he could run. But that was really nice of him."

"See? And like I said, he really likes you, so I don't think he'd make a big deal about it," Stephanie added with a grin. "Now, is it possible that you're starting to like him back? I mean, you both have a lot in common, you sing, you dance, you love music, you're famous-"

"And the paparazzi would have a field day with it just like every other relationship I've had since I've been in the limelight," Rhuben added in a dull tone. "But, that's what I get for going into this profession and I love doing it so I'm not going to stop just because of that. And it's not like I haven't noticed how cuter he's gotten since the break." Stephanie laughed as the bus pulled up to the curb. "I'm not made of stone you know, of course I noticed stuff like that."

"You know, you sound exactly like Katie, Kendall's sister," Stephanie stated as she and her friend got on the bus, taking a seat in the middle of the bus. "She was blushing around him the other day before practices started, but then again, who can blame her? But, I saw her glancing over at the soccer fields a lot."

"Yeah, Patrick and Noah are friends with her and have been talking about her a lot recently," Rhuben stated, a smile coming to her face. "If I didn't know any better I'd say they liked her. We're going over to my brother's place today. I can ask about it while we're there."

"Cool, say 'hi' to Julius for me," Stephanie smiled, setting her camera bag down on the ground. "And to his girlfriend too."

"No problem."

* * *

**I hope you guys liked this chapter. We have so many ideas for this story and I hope you guys like them as they unfold. So, what did you like about this chapter? What did you not like? Is there anything you think I could've gone into more? And most importantly, what would you like to see in this story?**

**Cheers,**

**-Rhubes**


	8. Chapter 8: Big Time Music Class

**.:Chapter Eight – Big Time Music Class:.**

**

* * *

**"Hurry up guys, or we're going to be late," Logan stated as he looked at his watch, continuously pacing back and forth in the sitting area of their dorm. He threw his hands into the air. "And we don't even know where this class room is!"

"Logie, you're freaking out over nothing," Kendall stated as he placed a hand on Logan's shoulder, trying to get the worried teen to calm down. "We're leaving early so we can find this classroom, and I'm sure that no everyone knows where it is so there's going to be some leniency on being late."

"You're not helping." Logan grumbled and turned on his heels to the helmet clad boy that was sitting at the kitchen table, calmly eating a bowl of cereal. "Carlos, that's your _fifth_ bowl of cereal, you're going to make us late!"

"Nu-uh!" Carlos shouted back, spraying bits of food everywhere as he spoke. "James is the one that's taking forever on his hair."

"When does he not?" Kendall asked in reply, crossing his arms over his chest, growing even more amused as Logan's annoyance continued to sky rocket. He chuckled to himself before walking over to James' and Carlos' room and taking a step inside. His eyes popped open when he saw clothes thrown all over the floor and James standing in the middle of it, shirtless, looking down at the pile, a hand on his chin. "You're not even dressed yet?"

"_What_?" Logan's shriek came from the main part of the dorm.

"I don't know what shirt to wear," James replied calmly as he continued to scan the ground. "I mean, this is my first music class, where I can start off my career, and I need a shirt that's going to make me stand out." Kendall opened his mouth to reply but James cut him off. "Oh, I know, I can wear my lucky white v-neck!"

"You're so weird," Kendall laughed as he shook his head. "Just hurry up so Logan's head doesn't explode all over the carpet, I don't want to have to get a new best friend and clean him up off too."

"I heard that." Logan stated as he appeared by Kendall's side.

"Good so now I can tell you to _relax_," Kendall grabbed Logan's shoulders and shook him forcefully. "You need to learn to be a little more passive and spontaneous. It's not going to kill you to be late for one day."

"Well, I'm ready." James grabbed his lucky comb out of his pocket and passed it through his hair and flashed his friends a grin before they grabbed their backpacks and keys and headed towards Presser Hall, where their music class was.

The music class at CABS was actually called Performance Class, but the students just shortened it to music. In the music class you had one main teacher that you got your grades from and he was the one that you had when you got lectures on the music or performing arts industry. But in music class you have four different kinds of classes and they're on a rotation, lecture, vocals, movement, and recording. They're pretty self explanatory, vocals is when you would take different songs to sing in class to improve on your vocal skills as well as how to breathe when singing and other types of singing, movement is when you take dance classes to enhance your stage performance, and recording is when you took some of your songs and recorded it in the studio, to make a demo. The demo is used for an exam grade as well as being used to send out to record companies.

On the way down to the lobby, they caught up with Dak, who was taking his time as he walked down. "Hey," he stopped and grinned at them. "Where are you guys headed?" He raised his eyebrows. "Performance class?" His smile grew when they nodded. "Same here, I'll take you guys there."

"Thanks a lot," Carlos reached out and jostled Logan on the arm. "Logie here has been freaking out that we were going to be late."

"Yeah, well, Duke, he's the teacher," Dak explained and took a sharp right, side-stepping as a random guy on rollerblades danced by them. "He's very lenient on being late the first few days, but it's a bad idea if it's a lecture day."

"See, what did I tell you?" Kendall grinned and then a confused expression took over his features. "Uh, Dak, where are you going?"

"Oh, sorry, I said that I was going to meet WayneWayne before I went to class," Dak replied and then stopped and looked at the four boys. "Is that going to be a problem?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

'_Yes_' Kendall thought to himself, but he forced himself to shake his head. "No." he replied shortly, his nostrils flaring a little. "It's fine." He felt a fist jab into his back and Kendall winced slightly, his muscles already hurting from practice the day before, and turned to see his friends staring at him with skeptical looks on their faces. "I won't start anything if he doesn't." He promised.

And he kept the promise the best he could, when WayneWayne had joined them to go the class, he had completely ignored the boys and only talked to Dak while they walked to Presser Hall, which was in the middle of campus. When they entered the classroom, the boys couldn't help but smile as they looked around. It was a large room that could easily be used for chorus, band, or just a regular classroom. On one side of the room was a couple of couches and chairs underneath some windows, next to a desk that held two computer screens, in the middle were a set of tables, and on the other side were a bunch of instruments, including a piano, a drum set, and many guitars.

"Wow, this is cool." Logan smiled as he gazed around the room.

"I think I'm really going to like it here." James stated with a grin as he noticed three beautiful girls walk by him. "Whoa, are those the same girls that we saw when we first got here?"

"The Jennifers?" Dak nodded. "You can try if you want, but I don't think they're going to be that into you." He warned. He turned, about to say something to WayneWayne, but frowned when he saw him loping off to the other side of the room. He shrugged and walked over to the couches where Riley, Rhuben, and Jo were already sitting. "Anyone I should be jealous about?" He asked Rhuben when he noticed that she was texting on her phone.

"No," Rhuben replied shortly as she put her phone down and then looked at him, an apathetic expression on her face before she smirked. "Not that it's any of _your_ business."

"It's not," Dak agreed with a shake of his head. "I just care." Logan's eyebrows raised as he watched the exchange, suddenly feeling like he didn't know his friends as well as he used to.

"Aww," Jo gushed with a adoring smile. "That's so sweet." She slapped Rhuben on the arm. "How can you not go out with him? Even _I _would go out with him."

"Name the time and the place." Dak replied with a joking wink, causing Riley to laugh.

"And that's the exact reason why," Rhuben replied as she rolled her eyes. "You're the biggest flirt on the planet, and I don't date in the industry, where everybody knows my business. Plus, potentially being stalked even more by paparazzi."

"So what makes her different from asking Riley out?" Jo asked, rolling her eyes as Rhuben's answer. She looked at Rhuben out of the corner of her eye and Rhuben looked back at her with an expression of suspicion, but Jo just smiled back sweetly.

"Simple, I'm not his type." Riley replied as if she was saying the wind was blowing outside. "I bug him, he bugs me, we're friends like that and that's all we need." She stated and she and Dak leaned over and high-fived.

"Anyway," Dak motioned for the guys to sit down as well, so they didn't feel like they were the third wheels on the conversation. "She keeps claiming that she's not interested in me, but I know I can get her to change her mind."

"No you won't," Rhuben replied firmly. "And it's not a claim."

"So you say," Dak replied with a charming smile and then leaned back in his chair, addressing all of the girls now. "So, I'm surprised to see that you guys aren't late." He stated.

"Yeah, me too." Jo agreed as she pulled her hair out of her face and into a ponytail. "We all were running late this morning, I had to sprint all the way here just to make sure I wasn't late."

"But Dak just told us that since it's the first day you aren't counted as late." Kendall commented with a slight.

"Jo is a stickler for being late," Riley snorted as she leaned back against the couch, crossing one leg over the other as she twirled her phone in her hands. "That along with not missing one of her judo or ballet practices, and she hates it whenever someone is sexist." She sat up and smirked, raising her eyebrows. "So if any of you boys are fine with that, I think that we have a candidate for a boyfriend."

"Shut up!" Jo reached over and slapped Riley on the arm, laughing in embarrassment.

"You're single?" Kendall asked, looking interested.

"Yes," Jo turned back to him, an odd expression on her face. "Why?"

"Just wondering." Kendall shrugged.

"So what is this class like?" Logan asked, changing the subject rapidly. "Is it any good?" he wrung his hands in his lap, nervously. He was always like that the first couple of days of classes, and it was something that he was trying to get over. He could be really timid sometimes, but there were also times where he could be outgoing, you just wouldn't know it since he cared about school so much.

"Oh, this class is awesome," Rhuben replied her eyes lighting up a little bit. "It's probably one of the few classes that I actually really like. You get to learn a lot about the music/performing industry and it helps you with real life when you get out of here." She paused for a second as she looked at the boys. "Do you plan on going to college or continuing with music?"

"Uh?" Carlos blinked rapidly for a few seconds. "We have a choice?" he asked dumbly.

"Yeah, you have a choice," Rhuben nodded. "After you're done at CABS you can either go to college or continue on with the music industry, that's what this school prepares you for, for both options." She waved a hand. "But don't worry; you don't have to decide until it gets closer to graduation." She laughed when she noticed the expression on Logan's face. "You have a while, Logie."

"Yeah, you don't need to have a heart attack, man." Dak reassured him. "Everything that she said is true, the class is cool and even if you don't sing or anything, you'll learn and its fun."

"Have you heard him sing?" Logan asked as he jerked his thumb over to Carlos. "Now, I'm bad, but Carlos is _horrible."_

"Logie, you're not bad at singing." Riley replied pointedly as she shook her head. She looked up as James walked over to them. "What happened to your shirt?" she asked when she saw a large, dark stain on the front of it.

"One of the Jennifers dumped their coffee on me," James replied with a heavy sigh, although he still had a smile on his face. "But I know that they're going to come around, they always do."

"I wouldn't count on it," Jo shook her head as she spoke, having to move her hair out of her face again. She shrugged a little. "The Jennifers will only date you if you're already famous. A singer, a musician, a model, an actor, even if you're just a director. It's the only way that they'll be interested."

"Yeah, well the first phase of my plan has already worked, so it shouldn't be that much longer." James replied as he lightly dabbed at his lucky white v-neck. He turned to Kendall, Logan, and Carlos, who tried to hide the smiles that showed that they were laughing at their friend's misfortune. "I told you that this shirt was lucky, I didn't meet just _one_ hot girl, and I met _three._" He let out a dreamy sigh as the others laughed a little.

Logan smiled happily when he noticed that Riley and Rhuben were laughing along with them as well. He had only just recently met up with them again a couple of days ago, but he could tell from the way that they had changed a lot. They were a lot more serious and they smirked more often than they smiled. He remembered where they were younger and back in Texas that they smiled and laughed a lot, and he could always tell that it was genuine from the way that a sparkle would reach their eyes, but now they just seemed dull. The only time they tended to be happy was when they were talking about music or their brothers.

"But James, aren't you upset that your creepily 'lucky white v-neck' is ruined?" Carlos asked as he used air quotes around the words. He made a face. "I mean, you're the one that had freaked out when I touched it last time."

"That's because you used it for a rag when you got spaghetti sauce all over the table." James replied with a glare before reaching out and smacking Carlos on top of his helmet, moving it down over his eyes.

"What's with the-"

"Don't ask." Kendall interrupted Jo, when she was about to ask about the helmet that Carlos was wearing. "Trust me; it would be much simpler if you didn't know the answer."

"Don't I know it." James laughed in agreement and then looked over at Riley. "How are you doing today, beautiful?" he questioned. Riley had a startled look on her face and then it turned to one of confusion. "Remember? At the gym-"

"You're talking to Riley, not Rhuben." Logan interrupted. "Rhu wears purple."

"Well, that explains the somewhat look of horror on her face when you called her beautiful," Dak joked. "She doesn't get that a lot," he added as a stage whisper, before being hit on the leg by Riley's fist. "Just kidding." He looked up as an older man walked into the room. "Hey, it's Duke, c'mon." He grabbed his backpack off of the floor and they headed across the rooms to the tables and got settled as Duke moved to the front of the room.

"Hey dudes and dudettes, I hope that you guys are ready for another year at CABS," Duke grinned as he brushed his choppy blonde hair out of his face. "Cause I sure as hell aren't, I was sure that I would be out of here by now." He joked, causing the class to laugh.

"He seems kind of young to be a teacher," Kendall muttered to Jo, who was sitting next to him.

"He's 27, and had gone to CABS before going to UCLA to become a teacher." Jo whispered back. "Most of the teachers here are alumni and are fairly young. Except for the principal, the vice principal, Mrs. Gordon, and…some other teachers." She whispered back.

"Oh." Kendall nodded and went back doodling in his notebook, although he was half paying attention. He didn't want to admit it, but he really liked music. If he was asked straight out he would completely deny it, but he listened to the 90s channel all the time and new all the words to every boy bands' songs from back then. Every now and then he played the guitar, but was usually too focused on hockey to show anything other than an interest.

"What to expect in this class," Duke continued to say as he paced the room before perching on the desk at the front. "Not much except for a passing grade and more experience in whatever part it is that you want in the music industry." He clasped his hands together. "This class is, like the rumors, is split into four sections, lecture, vocals, movement, and recording. I'm your teacher for lecture and vocals, and when it comes to movement and recording you're going to have different teachers, but they're going to be sending reports on your class participation back to me and I put it all together and then it makes a grade."

"Now for your exam at the end of the year it's a demo CD, which means that you're definitely going to have to be here for a majority of the vocal and recording classes." Duke continued to explain. "I don't care of the quantity of the CD, but the quality and you have all year to work on it and improve so I'm sure all of you guys are going to get an A,." He shrugged and cleared his throat. "Now I have two announcements, the first one is that we're going to have a little in class competition. You can work by yourself or in a group of up to five people and you're going to either perform as part of an assignment. And you may never know when it's going to happen, I may take you guys out to do some karaoke to work on your stage fright or I may make you perform for the teachers, or just in the cafeteria. I'm going t be watching you guys and 'grading you' while you perform, those that improve the most wins the competition for the class."

Kendall perked up, listening closely as he twisted in his seat and looked at Logan, James, and Carlos; they nodded back at him, silently agreeing that three of them were going to be a group. He turned back to listen to Duke. "This sounds really cool." He muttered under his breath. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Jo smile at him before turning her attention back to Duke as well.

"Then the next thing and this is for the whole school," Duke spoke up again, in a tone that caused everyone to immediately stop talking and start listening again. "Riley, Rhuben, and Dak can't participate because they're already under a record label. But every year there is a school wide competition, kind of like a battle of the bands that happens at the end of the year for those who are trying to be put under a record label. What happens is that the bands, music groups, whatever are competing to get a yearlong contract under Gustavo Rocque and Rocque Records."

James shot his hand into the air and frantically waved it around until he was called on. "What happens if you don't win?" he asked and then started to go off on a tangent. "Because I have this plan where I start out by being in a group, being discovered, then going solo-"

"What's your name?" Duke interrupted, turning towards the tall teenage boy.

"James Diamond." James replied with a grin. "In the future you will probably know me as Jamez but-"

"Well, I can see that you're ambitious, James," Duke looked amused. "Don't worry if you don't win, there are people from many other representatives from the record company that come by, this is like, the Oscars of school functions, _everyone_ is there."

"I've heard that a lot of celebrities come by as well," WayneWayne spoke up from the back of the classroom. Carlos, along with the others, turned around to face him. He was sitting off by himself in the corner of the room, his feet up on the table. "Is that true?"

"Yes, what CABS is also famous for is getting connections for your possible futures." Duke replied. "Anyway, I need you guys to come up with a name for your group or whatever by Friday, that's when we're going to start working on vocals, shoot me an e-mail when you think of one." He turned to the board and grabbed a marker and started to write his e-mail address down. When he was done he turned back around and then smiled at the class. "Any other questions?" He grinned. "Feel free to talk amongst yourselves for the rest of the class, today was just an introduction day."

"So what do you think our name should be?" Carlos asked as Kendall turned around in his chair, a thoughtful expression on his face as he, Logan, and James gathered around. "What about…the Boys?"

"That's _way _too boring." James replied as he rolled his eyes. "We want it to be something that's a big time name, so no one will forget it."

"How about the losers?" WayneWayne suggested from where he was sitting.

"Dude, chill." Dak stated in a warning tone. "They just want to get started in the business like you are."

"Yeah, but the only difference is that I have talent and they don't." WayneWayne replied as he shook his head. "I mean, any idiot knows that the last thing you do is think of a name for themselves." His lips curled into a smirk. "Unless it's one as good as name."

"Yeah, because _WayneWayne_ is such a _great name," _Riley replied sarcastically, pushing her pigtails behind her ears as a wicked gleam filled her eyes. "So much better than Wall-"

"Shut up!" WayneWayne interrupted in a cool tone as he stood up and glared at her. Riley held up her hands defensively.

"What's up with him?" Rhuben asked her twin as WayneWayne roughly grabbed his backpack and stormed out of the room. "You barely said two words to him." Riley just shrugged in reply.

"I was just kidding," she replied, not seeming to take any offense about it. "But then again he's kind of like Ronan in that way; one joke can set him off if he's having a bad day."

"I get your point," Rhuben replied, lightly jostling her sister on the arm. She looked over her shoulder again before turning back to Kendall, Logan, Carlos, and James. "He's right about one thing though, stressing out over a name for your band isn't what you should be worrying about."

"Well, how did you come up with your name, The DarkElements?" Logan asked, looking curious. "I've always wanted to know."

"Oh that was easy," Rhuben waved a hand. "All five of us, as a joke, have associated ourselves with an element; like fire, water, earth, air, and then we all like the color black. But the name BlackElements was too generic, so we changed it to DarkElements and it stuck."

"So, the person or people that wins gets to work with Gustavo Rocque?" Kendall asked, his eyebrows raising at the name. "What's he like? I think I've heard of him before, but the news about him wasn't that great."

"Gustavo?" Riley smirked. "Oh he's harmless, if you know how to deal with him. But if it were you guys," she looked the boys up and down. "I'd say that you'd probably get eaten alive."

"Or just screamed at." Rhuben muttered under her breath.

"So, why don't you try singing something for us?" Dak suggested, smoothly changing the subject as he shot the two girls looks, causing them to smirk in reply. "You can't work in this industry without working on your vocals or if you have stage fright, so working on some of it now will get you ahead of the game." Riley, Rhuben, and Jo nodded in agreement.

"Ok," James agreed and then looked at the ceiling in thought. "What should we sing?"

"Just try harmonizing." Riley suggested.

"Ok," James repeated and then tapped out a beat on the table and started on a note, Kendall, Logan, and Carlos falling in. It was fine for a start, but Logan's voice cracked as well as Carlos seemed to be 'saying' the note instead of 'singing' it. Dak winced, Rhuben's mouth shot to the side as her eyes widened a little, Riley wiggled a finger in her ear, and Jo covered her face by pretending to rub her forehead. "How was that?" he grinned when the four of them had finished.

"Yeah, they got a lot of work to do." Riley commented under her breath.

Jo, Rhuben, and Dak nodded in agreement.

* * *

**A/N: This chapter was focused only on the guys because I wanted to show how they started to get together as a band as well as a bit of the competition that Patrick and Noah mentioned to Katie. I hope that you guys liked it. Do you think that this story is going too slow, is it fast paced, or is the tempo fine? Anyway, this story is going to get into real teenage problems soon, but we want to keep the tone of the story uplifting for now.  
**

**Cheers,**

**-Riley**


	9. Chapter 9: Big Time Lunch

**~Chapter Nine – Big Time Lunch~**

* * *

"Watcha doing?" Dak asked as he sat down across from Rhuben at the round table she was sitting at. He grabbed his fork and speared a piece of broccoli before taking a large bit out of it. "Homework?"

"As if!" Rhuben replied, making a face at him as she briefly glanced away from her computer screen. "No, it's my turn to write our blog. We promised our fans that we'd write a blog so they know how everything with school and recording is going. You should check it out."

"I'll look into it."

"It was Sydney's idea, but he's making us do it most of the time," Riley said as she took the seat next to her twin. "We're actually trying to make Patrick do it most of the time. You eating before or after our performance?"

"I don't think it would be a good idea to puke up chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream," Rhuben replied, moving her backpack to the ground. She gave Riley a suspicious look as she quickly typed on Rhuben's computer before sitting back, giving her an innocent look. "You going to cross country practice today?"

"No, I'm going to assess James on his surfing to see if he has what it takes to join the team," Riley replied, shaking her head. "Tell coach for me ok?"

"No problem," Rhuben replied before glancing over at Dak. "When's your guys' first game anyway?"

"Next Thursday," Dak replied around a mouthful of hamburger. He made a face at Riley as she reached out and grabbed a handful of French fries off his plate. "We've got a lot of pretty good players, your brothers included. Probably some of the best freshmen I've seen in a while."

"That doesn't really surprise me," Riley stated, grabbing more fries off of Dak's plate.

"Why don't you just take the rest of them? I wasn't planning on eating them or anything," Dak sarcastically stated, raising his eyebrows. Riley shrugged before taking the rest of his fries. Dak couldn't help but laugh a little bit. "Where's everybody else anyway?"

"Jo is searching the internet for songs she possibly wants to cover for that assignment, then she's going to the library to print something out," Rhuben recited, counting off on her fingers. "Stephanie and Camille are doing some homework in their room so they don't have to worry about it later tonight, Patrick, Noah, and Sydney are with dad, and I'm assuming the guys are making their way through the lunch line."

She then twisted around in her seat to double check, her eyes scanning the mass group of people that were sitting at the many tables outside. She spotted Katie in the line and waved her arm in the air. Katie smiled and gave a small wave back, showing that she saw where she was. "And Katie should be here soon."

"They might want to hurry unless they want to miss our performance," Riley muttered, licking salt off her fingers. She then gave Dak a teasing smile. "Of course we know _you _wouldn't want to miss it." She widened her eyes in innocence when Dak gave her a warning look.

"Shut up, Riles," Rhuben replied in a monotone before closing the lid to her computer. "Watch this for me, will ya?"

"No problem."

She handed Dak her computer before getting to her seat. "Might as well get my plate not before all the food is gone. You want anything, Riles?"

"Nah, I'm good," Riley waved her hand in the air, giving Dak a hard look, silently telling him that she needed to talk to him. She brushed her hair behind her ears before making sure Rhuben was out of ear shot. "You need to tell her."

"And _you_ need to stop pressuring me into it," Dak immediately shot back, an annoyed look crossing his face. "I'll tell her when I'm good and ready."

"Or when she finds someone else," Riley muttered. She pursed her lips before an apathetic look crossed her face. "I know you like her, probably even more than you could explain in words…which is…weird." Dak gave a short laugh. "Believe it or not but that's something she really needs right now. Now, she won't admit it, and she'll kill me if she finds out I told you, but that's the truth."

"With the way I've been acting, she doesn't feel the same way," Dak drummed his fingers on the table. "I don't do it on purpose, flirting with other girls, I mean. But, my mind just melts whenever I'm around her, as clichéd as that is. I mean, the flirting and joking just comes out of my mouth and I can't stop it. It wouldn't surprise me if that's why she didn't like me."

Riley gave him an odd look. "How long are you willing to wait for?"

"As long as I have to," Dak replied simply, shrugging. "I mean, it took you guys a long time to trust the girls and me. If I have to wait, then I'll wait."

"Bull shit," Riley peered at him, calling out his bluff. Dak's lips twitched into a smile at the corner.

"Bull true," he replied opting for a full smile. "So, unfortunately for you, you'll never get rid of me."

"I gathered that," Riley rolled her eyes as Katie set her stuff down on the table. The conversation was definitely over.

She dropped her backpack to the ground and gave the two of them a shy smile. "Hey. Thanks for letting me sit with you guys."

"You can stop thanking us," Riley replied, giving the younger girl a smile. "It's no prob, right Dak?"

"Mhm, you're welcome at any time," Dak gave her a warm smile which she immediately bowed her head and blushed at. He laughed good naturedly at her. '_Apparently, she's still not used to being around us all the time_.' He then glanced at his watch before looking over at Riles. "You should get going."

"Oh, right!" Riley slapped Dak a high five before quickly shouting "Bye" at Katie before heading off into the crowd.

"They're performing soon, right?" Katie asked, trying to make conversation as she ripped open the side of a ketchup packet.

"In about ten minutes, yes," Dak replied, pushing his empty plate and cup aside. "So, how's CABS been treating you so far? I mean, its only been a few days, but even some people can be stressed out."

"I'll admit at first I didn't really want to come here, but it's really cool," Katie replied, giving him a shy smile. "And it's even better that Kendall and his friends are here with me too."

"You're really close to Kendall aren't you?" Dak asked, raising his eyebrows and Katie nodded as she took a sip of her soda. "I have a younger sister, Lizzie, so I understand how you feel. She's about your age, actually."

"Does she come here too?" Katie asked, raising her eyebrows. '_Another friend my age! That'd be cool_.'

"No, she goes to the dance academy across town," Dak replied, shaking his head. "She's been obsessed with dance for as long as I can remember, jazz, ballet, tap, you name it she does it." He laughed a little bit. "She's actually become obsessed with hip hop dancing ever since I introduced her to the Jackson-McGuires. She's wants to be like Rhuben."

"She's a good dancer," Katie squirted her ketchup onto her hamburger before licking the red sauce off her fingers.

"Yeah, she is," Dak agreed, nodding. Katie paused in what she was doing and stared at him, easily spotting his wistful sigh.

"You really like her," Katie got his attention. It was more of a statement than a question. She hurried on when he opened his mouth. "It _is _obvious but not in so many words. If you like her that much why don't you tell her?"

"Because…there are some things stopping me," Dak replied, making a face. "It takes her a little bit to trust people y'know? It took her a long time to trust me or to even have her consider me as one of her friends. Something tells me that this will just take a little while longer. But, they're all like that."

"Why?" Katie asked. '_Patrick and Noah are kinda the same way. I haven't really seen Sydney around so I don't know about him. But the two of them do tend to cut themselves off from their friends from time to time. But, according to Park and Sol, its normal._'

"I don't really know," Dak shrugged. "But, if all she wants is for me to be her friend, than I'll respect that. As long as she's happy."

"That's sweet," Katie replied shortly. "No wonder all the girls in the entire world have crushes on you." Dak couldn't help but laugh.

"So, any guys you have your eye on?" Dak asked, changing the subject. Katie gave him a weird look.

"What, am I not allowed to ask you that?" he gave a mock offended look. "You're right around that age where you start noticing guys! Besides, being the only guy friend to Stephanie, Camille, Jo, Riley, and Rhuben, you'll hear way more than you want to."

"I feel so bad for you," Katie laughed, not even feeling sorry in the slightest. "No, there's no one. Not yet at least. I don't know. So, if your sister goes to the Dance Academy, why are you out here?"

"My parents actually live close enough that I'm a commuter student here," Dak explained, taking a fry off her plate, ignoring her sound of protest. "They take her to school in the morning, and I drive here, and I pick her up after sports practice and take her home. You should meet her soon, she comes to all the sports stuff and she has friends here that invite her to all the dances and stuff."

"Speaking of dancing," Katie muttered as music started pouring into the quiet courtyard. Seconds later applause started, quiet at first, then growing louder as students rushed from their seats to a clearing. "Come on, I can't really see anything."

The two of them walked over to the group of students, pushing their way through the crowd until they reached the front, where Kendall, James, Carlos, and Logan were standing. "Hey big bro," Katie called over the loud voices. "We were waiting for you."

"We got stuck in the food line," Kendall shouted back at her, giving her a hug. "Carlos took forever trying to decide on whether he wanted the tacos or the nachos."

"Did he ever decide?" Dak asked.

"No," Logan shot back, looking really annoyed. "We had to pull him away just to get here in time."

"Alright, everybody," Noah said into the microphone he was holding in his hands as he and his brothers and sisters filed out into the center of the clearing. The screams and shouts got louder. He, along with his siblings had a bandana (in their respective colors) tired around their foreheads, a black sleeveless blazer on over a tank top (in their color), dark wash jeans with the bottoms cuffed, and black high tops with white shoelaces on. "Are you ready for a celebration? Well let me hear you scream!"

"Wow, they really know how to get a crowd going," James shouted over the loud music to his friends as everyone around them started cheering even louder. He chuckled when he saw Carlos dancing to the beat beside him. He turned his attention back to the Jacksons as they started jumping in place, clapping their hands over their head to initiate audience participation.

Everyone in the lunch area stopped what they were doing and started clapping to the beat, dancing along to the song. Various people started shouting out the words with the band. James, Carlos, Logan, and Kendall just sat, staring in shock at how well their new friends were performing. Patrick ended the song by flipped his microphone into the air and caught it with one hand before moving it to his mouth again to hold out the last note. "Thanks y'all, we just wanted to kick off the new school year with a bang."

"Stay safe and have fun on campus, thanks for watching," Sydney added, opening and closing his hand in his signature wave before he flipped his microphone upside down and turned it off. "That was great, guys. "

"Yeah, Rhuben's hip hop boot camp finally paid off," Riley added, hip bumping her sister.

"Ha ha," Rhuben rolled her eyes as their friends crowded around them.

"You missed it," Sydney pouted as he crossed his arms over his chest, frowning up at Jo, Camille, and Stephanie.

"No we didn't," Jo laughed, running her fingers through his hair. "We saw the whole thing, we were just over there."

"We rushed here so we wouldn't miss a thing," Camille added, pulling him to her in a hug. He still had the frown on his face although he hugged her back.

"I got it on tape as proof, Syd," Stephanie laughed, wiggling her camera.

"Kay," Sydney smiled from ear to ear, hugging Stephanie around the waist, pressing his face into her stomach. She laughed and hugged him back. "Did you really like it?"

"It was slam dunk, Syd, don't worry," Dak laughed at the small boy's antics. "Summer of dancing really paid off, eh?"

"You're telling me!" Patrick rolled his eyes, his thick accent crawling into his voice. "I don't know how much longer I could take Rhuben yelling at me." He made a face as Rhuben silently lifted her foot and kicked him in the butt. He then gave her a sweet smile. "Although, if it wasn't for her we wouldn't be able to dance to save our lives."

"Thank you," Rhuben smiled, patting him on the head, causing everyone to laugh.

"And you say you don't have an ego," Riley rolled her eyes before turning to Big Time Rush, and Katie. "So, what'd you guys think? You got a glimpse of what we can do during a concert. Did it help give you any ideas for the stuff you want to do for Music Class?"

"_This _is exactly what I want to do," James cried, throwing his arms out to the side, nearly clipping Logan and Kendall in the ear. Luckily, they ducked out of the way before they got hit. "Singing, dancing, screaming fans! It's so cool."

"You say that now," Riley stated dryly, crossing her arms over her chest. "You _sure_ this is what you want to do?"

"James, you realize we're working as a _group _on this project, right?" Kendall asked, giving his friend an odd look. "_I _don't sing, Carlos doesn't _dance_ and Logan…can't do _either_!"

"Thanks," Logan rolled his eyes, shaking his head."You really want to do this, James?" James nodded, smiling eagerly. Logan made a face as he rubbed his forehead before glancing over at Riley. "You guys _did_ say you'd help us out right?"

"I'm starting to think that was a bad idea, but yes," Riley replied, nodding once. Logan let out a heavy sigh.

"I'll do it for James," Logan stated, looking over at Kendall and Carlos. "If anybody can whip us into shape, they can and we wouldn't be here if we weren't helping him out."

"I'm in too," Carlos replied before letting out a loud "Whoo!" slapping his helmet twice for emphasis.

"For James…I'm in too," Kendall grinned, clapping his friend on the back. "Thanks, uh-"

"Riley," Riley supplied her name, giving a small wave. "Jo, we'll help you too, don't think we've forgotten about you. You're already amazing on the guitar so we can help you with vocal lessons and stage presence and stuff."

"Thanks guys," Jo grinned, before snapping her fingers. "We can make this a group thing. Stephanie, you can film our progress just in case you can use it for a project and Camille…you can…uh-"

"She can help me with wardrobe," Riley supplied, giving her friend a smile before looking the four boys up and down. "God knows you need it." Katie burst out into loud laughter as Kendall and his friends looked at their clothes, silently wondering what was wrong with it.

"This is going to be epic!" Katie grinned from ear to ear. "Wait until I tell mom!" Then a panicked look crossed her face. "Mom! Kendall, we forgot to call mom!"

"Oh, she's probably already halfway here! You know how much she worries," Kendall fished his cell phone out of his pocket before jabbing at a button with his thumbnail, motioning for Katie to move closer. "We'll catch up in a minute, guys."

"Glad that's over, Ronan should be proud," Patrick put his arm on Noah's shoulder, leaning his weight against him, suddenly feeling tired. "I thought he said he was going to be here, bro." Noah raised and lowered his shoulder in a shrug. Patrick copied the movement.

"Hey." Everybody turned and looked at WayneWayne as he made his way up to the group. Dak slapped him a high five in greeting and he traded smiles with Camille. He shifted his weight from foot to foot as silence washed over the group. He licked his lips before glancing over at Riley, giving a small nod. "Good job. _Awesome_ job. That really was…"

"Awesome?" Riley asked, arching an eyebrow and WayneWayne nodded. "Thanks."

"Come eat with us, dude," Dak offered, glancing back and forth between WayneWayne and Riley.

"Sorry, but I'm meeting with Duke to talk to him about the project," WayneWayne shook his head, declining the offer. He looked over at James, Carlos, and Logan, his eyes narrowing a little bit. "I'll see you guys later."

"Man, I'm hungry, I should've gotten some brekkie this morning," Patrick loudly stated, licking his lips, as if the awkward moment that just happened didn't happen. "Sis, you got any brass?"

"What happened to your student ID card?" Riley asked, fishing in her pocket for some money. He handed her a five dollar bill.

"In my other pants pocket," Patrick grinned sheepishly before dragging Noah off to the food line. "Thanks heaps."

"Yeah, yeah," Riley waved her hand in the air.

"We haven't gotten anything else to eat yet, we'll be back soon," Logan added, giving Riley and Rhuben a congratulatory hug before he, James, and Carlos followed Patrick and Noah through the crowd.

Riley then turned and gave her sister a confused look. "It is weird though, dad said he'd be here."

"Can I borrow someone's phone?" Rhuben asked, offering her hand. In seconds, Dak's phone was in her hand. "Let's see if he sent us an email or anything." Rhuben's thumbs flew over the keys before a satisfied smirk crossed her face. "He had a meeting...suddenly came up….with Gustavo Rocque...blah, blah, blah-" she stopped before looking up at Riley and Dak. "He wants us to come ASAP."

"I didn't know Gustavo was here," Dak commented, rubbing his chin as Rhuben handed him his phone back. "I wonder what he wants."

"Maybe he's come to scout out talent," Riley suggested.

"If that's the case, James just missed him," Sydney pointed out, taking his bandana off his forehead to wipe the sweat off the back of his neck. "He would've had a field day with this."

"Sounds important, we should get going," Riley commanded, taking charge of the situation. She then turned to Jo, Camille, and Stephanie giving them an apologetic smile at suddenly running off. "Um, meet in the Student Union and we can do homework. Around 8:00?"

"No problem, get going before Gustavo starts yelling," Jo warned with a short laugh.

"if he was, we'd know it, we'd be able to hear it all the way from over here," Camille commented, causing everyone to laugh. The three girls waved as their friends hurried off. "So, Jo, have you chosen a song to do yet? Or are you going to write your own?"

"I'm not sure," Jo shrugged as the three girls made their way towards an empty table. Stephanie pointed out their friends' stuff and the three of them sat down to make sure it wasn't stolen or messed with it. "I actually have so many songs written, but…I don't know, I'm scared to perform them."

"Jo, you're an amazing singer and guitar player," Camille put her arm around her friends' shoulders. "You have nothing to be scared of. Especially here!"

"She's got a point," Stephanie gave her friend a smile of reassurance. "This is a performing arts school for pete's sake! Everybody has to put themselves out there every once in a while."

"I know," Jo replied. "But, this will be the first time I really put myself out there! I'll probably just do a cover song, make it a little easier. I was thinking of doing _Tangled Up In Me_ by Skye Sweetnam, but that song has two guitars in it, even when its acoustic and it's still kind of hard for me to remember chords."

"I could help you," Kendall offered as he and Katie took two of the few empty chairs. "I play a little bit of guitar, I could teach you a few tricks to help you remember chord changes and stuff."

"He's being modest, he's really good at it," Katie said in a stage whisper, elbowing her brother in the side. Kendall rolled his eyes, but the smile never left his face.

"What do you say? We could meet after sports practice," he suggested.

"We're meeting Riles at 8:00 in the Student Union so we can do homework," Jo replied, brushing her hair over her shoulder.

"So before 8:00 then," Kendall shrugged before grabbing Katie's abandoned drink, taking a large sip out of it.

"Alright, I'll email you when the best time is for me," Jo suggested, exchanging looks with Camille and Stephanie. Kendall noticed but didn't know what to make out of it. He never understood that about girls.

"Sounds good."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry it took so long for me to update this. I had a bad case of writer's block, but I hope a good long chapter (even if it was for a short part of the day) makes it up to you!**

**Cheers,**

**-Rhubes**


	10. Chapter 10: Big Time Curfew

.:**Chapter Ten – Big Time Curfew:.**

* * *

"So what did you want to see us for?" Dak questioned kicking his feet up onto Ronan's desk, where he was sitting in his chair. Ronan shot him a look and Dak gave a sheepish smile and lowered his feet to the ground as Riley chuckled and shook her head.

"Yeah, I mean, we're already signed to Ronan and Blazing Phoenix Records, what do you need us for?" Rhuben added as she raised her eyebrows, looking back and forth between Ronan, Gustavo Rocque, and Gustavo's assistant Kelly Wainright.

"Nothing really," Gustavo replied, causing the Riley, Rhuben, and Dak to make faces of annoyance. "I just wanted to know what the new students this year are like."

"Why?" Rhuben asked slowly as she narrowed her eyes a little. She leaned back in her chair and snapped her fingers. "I get it; you want us to scope out the new students to see who you think you'll want to sign."

Riley let out a fake gasp as she widened her eyes and placed a hand on her chest. "You're telling me that you want _us_ to do your _dirty_ work for you?" She shook her head back and forth slowly, keeping her eyes on Gustavo. "We would _never_! How can you ask us to-"

"Oh cut the crap, Riles, you know that as soon as you heard it you were all over the idea!" Ronan cut in as he turned to his daughter and gave an amused grin.

"Yeah I know," Riley gave a peaceful smile back." I just wanted to make it seem like we aren't that devious."

Kelly cleared her throat as she looked away from her Palm Pilot. She tried not to laugh, as she always had to do whenever she was around Ronan and his kids. The way they interacted with each other was always so funny; it was like they were all best friends instead of father and kids. "So who have you seen that could possibly be the next band that Gustavo signs?"

"So far, no one." Rhuben remarked as she drummed her fingers on her thigh from where she was sitting on the floor, leaning against one of the large windows. "I mean, classes just started, so you can't expect them to be able to remember everything that they did last year."

"But the new students, Kendall Knight, James Diamond, Logan Mitchell, and Carlos Garcia aren't that great separately, but they have a lot of potential together." Riley added, now being serious.

"Thanks," Kelly punched something into her Palm Pilot. "We'll keep them in mind."

"Thanks for stopping by," Ronan added and then moved over to his chair, tilting the back legs so Dak slid out of the chair and onto the floor. "But I need everyone to leave so I can get some work done. I have a bunch of quizzes and stuff to grade so-"

"Anything that we can look at?" Riley asked, looking curious.

"Not with the threat of you being able to change the grades on me again." Ronan replied and rolled up some of the papers and swatted her hand with it.

"Busted!" Gustavo stated with a grin. "What?" he questioned when he saw the look that Kelly was giving him. "What? I'm so bored without having anyone to sign that I need to have something that keeps my attention."

"Other than playing darts with the dart board being Arthur Griffin's face?" Ronan asked as he turned back to his friend.

"It's a picture of Hawk's face, now." Kelly replied.

"Exactly," Gustavo replied as he nodded slowly, an evil grin sliding on his face. "It's the only way that I can throw darts at someone…_legally_."

"So are we good to go?" Rhuben asked as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail. "We have to get to the rest of our classes and then we have to get to our sports practices."

"God forbid I miss a soccer practice." Dak added sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"What time are you all done?" Ronan asked as he picked up a note pad and flipped through it.

"Five o'clock, if not Five thirty." Riley replied after she thought about it for a second. "We'll go back to the dorm to do homework, and then later Rhu and I are doing homework with the girls."

"Alright, see ya." Ronan gave a short wave and then turned to Gustavo and Kelly as the three teenagers left his office. "So what are you guys up to for the rest of the day? Usually you don't come by unless you're trying to get away from Griffin."

"And that's exactly why we're here today." Gustavo agreed as calmly as possible.

"What, what'd he do this time?" Ronan questioned lightly rocked himself back and forth. "I mean, it couldn't be worse than-"

"Oh, it's worse." Kelly stated as she rubbed her forehead. "This is probably the most that I've ever seen Gustavo get annoyed by Griffin. This time he even tried to buy some explosives off the internet and plant them around just so he could get rid of Griffin and claim that it was an accident." Kelly gave Gustavo a stern look and he just shrugged.

"Remind me not to get you mad at me."

* * *

James sat on the beach, looking at his watch every few minutes as he soaked up the sun's rays. He had a surf board sitting beside him and his feet were planted in the sand, something that he didn't think that he would do for a long time. Sure, his whole plan of becoming a Popstar wasn't going exactly the way that he wanted it to go, but he was a at a performing arts school and it would be better for him to work on his talents before going out and trying to be discovered.

"I hope you haven't been waiting long." James looked up and grinned when he saw Riley walking over to him, a board bag slung over her shoulder. His smile waned a little when he saw Patrick and Sydney walking along behind her. "Have a good practice, Pat." She said to Patrick, who nodded and held his board over his head as he jogged down the beach towards the rest of the surf team. "Syd, stay on the beach where I can keep an eye on you." She added to her little brother, who nodded as he was already engrossed in making a sandcastle.

"How come we're not practicing with the rest of the surf team?" James asked Riley as he stood up, brushing sand off of his hands.

"I told the coach that I was assessing you to see how well you do before you actually try out," Riley replied as she pulled her shoulder length black hair up into pigtails. "So since I'm helping you it still counts as me getting a practice in." She let out a heavy sigh and placed her hands on her hips. "When I _really_ should be at cross country practice." She muttered under her breath.

"Well," James had heard her and he quickly wracked his brain, trying to think of something to say. "Thank you for taking the time to help me." He gave a charming smile as Riley gave him an odd look out of the corner of her eye.

"You're welcome." She replied and then turned to him as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Now, since you're from Minnesota and I'm guessing you haven't surfed a lot-"

"Actually, every time my parents and I go on vacation we go to beaches and resorts and stuff," James interrupted and scratched his chest as he continued speaking. "So I know a lot about surfing and-"

"And either way," Riley held up a hand to cut him off again. "I'm still going to have to treat you like you're a beginner, if you're not," she added when she saw James open his mouth again. "Just to make sure that you don't hurt yourself." She unzipped her board bag and pulled out her surfboard and threw it to the ground before taking off her shirt and tossed it aside, straightening her bikini top. "Alright, first things first are you a regular or goofy?"

"What's the difference?" James questioned as he raised his eyebrows, making sure he kept his gaze on her face.

"You mean you don't know?" Sydney remarked from where he was sitting on the ground, a pile of sand sitting in front of him. "You surf and you don't know the difference between being regular or goofy footed?"

"Ok, let me just start from the beginning." Riley, frustrated, threw her hands into the air before turning back to James again and motioning for him to sit down before she sat down across from him. "The first thing you need before you go surfing is the actual surfboard." She explained and James nodded, letting her know that he was listening. "The best surfboard for a beginner is a fun board, or an egg. Basically it's a fairly wide and thick board that's about seven feet with a rounded nose." She shielded her face from the sun as she continued. "Typically, you should get something fourteen inches taller than yourself and at least twenty inches wide. A long board is too difficult to paddle and control for beginners, and a short board is too thin, too narrow, and too short."

"Got it." James reached behind him and grabbed his surfboard, his muscles rippling as he did so. Riley looked down towards his stomach and then quickly looked away when he turned back. "How's this one?" he handed it over to her and Riley quickly looked it over.

"That's fine," she nodded in approval and gave it back. "There aren't any holes that would take in any water, the fins are placed correctly, and there's a hole for the leash." She grabbed her bag and reached into it, pulling out a rubbery substance. "The next thing you need to get is your wetsuit. The most important thing about this is how it fits. You need to make sure that the suit has a comfortable feel and is not totally restrictive of motion. If you are pinched by the neoprene, or it's going taut when you stretch or bend over, you'll need to try a different suit." She explained. "But you don't really need it since the water is really warm."

She reached into her bag again and then pulled out a small round object and tossed it to James, he caught it a second before it could hit him in the face. "Next is board wax to keep your feet on the board after you learn to stand up. Wax goes on the deck and usually comes in two coats. There is a base that goes directly onto the deck and a sticky coat over that that beads up to provide traction."

"Mr. Zogs sex wax." James read out loud. "The best for your stick." He paused. "Sex wax?" James raised his eyebrows as he read the label and then looked up at Riley through his fringe. "Are you trying to proposition me?" he smiled. "I mean, I don't blame you, I _am_ 'The Face' of me and my friends so you can just admit that you think I'm hot."

"Lalalalalala!" Sydney placed his hands over his ears. "I can't _hear_ you! Lalalalalala!"

"Be careful about what you say around my brother," Riley replied sharply as she narrowed her eyes at him. "And belt up, you hoon! It's just the name of the brand." She scratched her forehead. "I'm starting to think that this was a bad idea."

"No!" James cried and handed her back the surfwax. "I'm sorry, that was a stupid joke. I'll behave, I promise. Really. I'm glad that you're helping me…" he paused for a second, looking stricken. "Beautiful." He finally stated.

"You _still_ don't remember my name do you?" Riley questioned.

"I've known you for only 3 days."

"And Carlos already can tell me and Rhuben apart." Riley replied. "It's not that hard." She stood up. "Ok, now we need to figure out whether or not you're regular or goofy footed." She raised her hand. "Stand up." James did as he was told. "Hold still." She walked around him and placed her hands on his back, lightly pushing him forward. James stumbled forward slightly and moved his left foot forward to keep himself from falling. "Ok, so you're a regular footed." Riley walked out from behind him and grabbed her surfboard. "Let's get in the water."

"Really?" James looked skeptical as he slowly bent down to get his surfboard, as if he was about to get faked out.

"Well, you already said that you've been surfing before and," Riley looked him up and down and raised and lowered one shoulder. "You clearly work out a lot, so having to get past the breaks shouldn't be that hard for you. So show me what you got."

"Alright then." James smiled and grabbed his board and followed Riley into the water. He jumped on his board and executed a quick duck-dive dove right through the middle of a wave, shivering as the cold water rushed over him.

Surfacing on the other side of the wave, James let out of a loud sigh of relief. As much as he loved being on the ice, James loved being in the water, and it brought him peace to be in it's cool depths. Shaking his head slightly, he focused my eyes on the waves that were headed towards him and Riley.

Riley had stopped and was sitting up on her board, her feet out of the water and towards the nose of the board. "There's a 5 footer coming!" She shouted as a wave formed. "Give it your best shot!" she added as two waves rolled under them.

James turned started paddling towards shore as the wave sped up behind him. He hopped on the board, his feet sticking to it nicely. He put my hands out to steady myself and bent his knees low. James rode up the wave and off of the crest. In the air he turned my board one hundred and eighty degrees and cut back down the wave and towards the curl that was forming. When he reached the curl, James dropped to the board and hugged it tight. The wave rolled him over and over until it dispersed. When the water pulled back to the deep, he burst out laughing.

"So what do you think?" Patrick asked as he paddled up to Riley's said and pulled himself into a sitting position, shaking his head back and forth, water droplets flying everywhere. He looked towards the beach and waved to Sydney, who was standing by the water, his hands shielding his face from the sun as he watched them in the water.

"Funny enough," Riley commented as she narrowed her eyes a little, watching as James set himself up for another way. "For a guy from Minnesota, he's better than I thought."

* * *

Jo was sitting in one of the empty practice rooms in Presser, frowning as she balanced a black acoustic guitar on her lap.

Jo sighed as she narrowed my eyes, forcing her fingers into an F chord, transitioning back to Am as fast as she could manage. She winced as her fingers forcefully struck the E string and the note vibrated ominously.

"You don't need to stop practicing on my account" Kendall commented as he approached Jo, a guitar strapped around his back. "Sorry I'm a little late," he added, looking at his watch. "I walked Katie back to your dorm after practice then had to run back to my room to take a shower." He apologized.

"No it's fine," Jo gave a smile. "It's nice that you're willing to walk your sister back to her dorm." She moved her hair out of her face and smiled wider. "Not many guys are willing to do that. You two must be really close."

"Yeah, we're, like, best friends." Kendall gave a fond smile. "We tell each other everything." He cleared his throat and pulled his guitar to his front, a Gibson Acoustic J-4, running his fingers adoringly over the fret. He then leaned forward and took Jo's fingers gently and placed them on certain strings, arranging them so they formed a new chord.

"That's B minor." He informed her and took the workbook that was on the table in the room and flipped through it, opening to a page which showed a clear replica of how to do it.

"Alright," Jo nodded, strumming a little to hear it. She looked up from my guitar and smiled at Kendall, batting her eyelashes as she did so. "Teach me a song today?"

"Hmm," Kendall tilted his head in thought. "I think I might teach you 'We Didn't Start the Fire'." He finally agreed with a large grin.

He was surprised as Jo's eyes lit up. "Billy Joel?" she guessed and then let out a little squeal and then clasped her hand over her mouth as Kendall burst out laughing. "Sorry, I just really like Billy Joel."

"Yeah, I would have never guessed." Kendall replied teasingly. "I mean that little shriek you just did couldn't have been because you saw a spider." Jo reached out and lightly hit him on the arm as she twisted her mouth to the side, trying not to smile. Kendall gave a half grin. "Yeah, I'll try to teach you how to play _We didn't start the fire_ before we try on any other covers or your own songs."

"Sounds good." Jo smiled and then she sang some of it to him, bouncing in her chair slightly. "No, we didn't start the fire…"

Kendall sang it back to her. "It was always burning, since the world's been turning."

"You've got a good voice." Jo stated with a warm smile.

"Thanks." Kendall shot her a warm smile as well. "So do you."

"Thank you."

* * *

"Well, after three hours, I'm done with my homework." Camille commented as she closed her book and leaned back in her chair, rubbing her eyes before smiling over at Logan. "Thanks for the help, Logan!" she beamed at him.

"It's no problem," Logan replied, flashing her a smile. "Math and Science are my specialty."

"Along with being boring." James commented. He was lying on his back on the floor, shooting a rubber band repeatedly towards the ceiling.

"Wait a minute," Stephanie slowly lowered her notebook, a pen balancing precariously from her fingers. "How long did you say that we've been working?

"Three hours." Camille replied slowly.

"And when did we start?"

"At…8:00…" Kendall replied slowly as he lifted his watch to his face. Carlos continued to draw in his notebook as Jo suddenly let out a loud gasp, causing everyone else to jump in fright.

"Oh my god we're going to miss curfew!" Jo cried, her eyes growing wide. "If you miss curfew, you're going to get in a _lot_ of trouble." She ran her hands through her hair. "And we might get all day detention, and I can't do that if we have our core classes tomorrow."

"Since when is that news?" Riley questioned as she calmly started to gather her stuff together. "Besides, we already missed curfew."

"Yeah, it's one of the stupid things that the teachers actually really care about." Rhuben stated as she rolled her eyes, not looking the least bit concerned as she looked over at Jo. "I don't know why you always freak out about the idea of ever being out past curfew; we'll just sneak back to our dorms, no problem."

"No problem?" Logan repeated as he raised his eyebrows. "_No problem_?" He practically screeched. "Do you know the _guilt_ that's going to haunt each and every one of your souls if you _try_, try being the keyword," he added before continuing. "To sneak back in and get caught?" he shook his head. "It's better to just go back in and turn ourselves in."

"Where's the fun in that?" Dak snorted.

"That's what I like to hear!" Riley declared as she slapped herself on the thigh. "C'mon let's get going." She gathered her stuff and everyone quickly did the same and got up and started out of the Student Union and across campus as quietly as they could.

"What are you doing?" Carlos let out a scream and James and Kendall quickly slapped their hands over his mouth, abruptly cutting it off as they turned to see WayneWayne sitting on the edge of the fountain, smirking at them, illuminated in the moonlight. "You don't have to answer me; you're trying to sneak back in aren't you?" He got up from the fountain and shook his head back and forth as he made a 'tsk' sound. "Let's just hope that you guys don't get caught."

"I'm not sure if you're aware of it," Kendall spoke up as he gave WayneWayne an odd look. "You're out here too, and _you're_ a junior." He light poked WayneWayne in the chest. "Which means that you're on curfew too." He smirked. "So you're going to get in trouble as well."

WayneWayne blinked for a few seconds and then turned away, muttering under his breath, knowing that what Kendall had said was right.

"Wait a minute," Dak spoke up suddenly. "Why do _I_ care if we're out past curfew? I live off campus." He turned and started to walk away.

"Because we still have a city curfew." Rhuben called after him, stopping him in his tracks. "So you're probably going to be stuck staying in someone else's dorm tonight." She added as she gave a shrug.

"Damn." Dak muttered, knowing that she was right as well. He turned to WayneWayne and raised his eyebrows. "What were you even doing out here, dude?"

"Who cares?" Camille interrupted. "We have to get back in _now_! I wouldn't be able to stand not being able to audition for the upcoming play." She turned and led everyone towards the dorm buildings again.

"A little overly dramatic don't you think?" James questioned as he raised his eyebrows.

"It's her specialty." Stephanie replied as she continued to move her camera around to capture what was going on. "The only good thing about this is that if we get caught, I can still use this for my film project." She then shrugged her shoulders and lowered the camera from her eye. "Or just use it for memories; I wouldn't be able to tell anyone what happened if we don't get caught."

"But a life without risks is a life unlived." Carlos piped up as he moved to her side.

"Good point." Stephanie agreed and moved the camera up and pointed it as Carlos' face as he stuck his tongue out for the camera.

"So what if we break curfew?" WayneWayne asked as he stopped walking. "I mean, what's the worst that could happen? You get a detention and you're on academic probation, so what?" He snorted as he pushed his sunglasses up his nose. "It's not like this place is even worth it."

"Why are you even here?" Kendall asked, irritably, turning to him. "At this school, if you don't want to be here?"

"If you _must _know," WayneWayne turned to him. "It's the only way that I could break into the music industry, although I would rather be _anywhere _else but here with you idiots."

"You can call me an idiot, but don't talk about my friends like that, fucker!" Kendall shoved WayneWayne in the chest.

"Why don't you put your money where your fucking mouth is?" WayneWayne replied and shoved Kendall in the chest as well.

"Both of you just shut the fuck up!" Riley interrupted, pushing the two apart from each other. "You're both giving me the irrits!"

"The what?" Kendall and WayneWayne asked in unison.

"You're annoying her," Rhuben translated impatiently. "And frankly, both of you are ignoring me too. But right now I don't have the time to worry about it." She turned to Riley and held up her phone. "I texted Pat, No, and Syd, to tell them that we're going to be late, and they'll try to keep Ronan occupied until we can sneak back in."

"Can we go now? _Please_?" Logan was bouncing from foot to foot, looking around anxiously. He looked as if he had to go to the bathroom. "I think that doing this is making my heart explode."

"Even _you _know that that's not possible." James replied and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Shhh!" Jo hissed. "We don't want to attract any attention."

"Well, I already attract a lot of girls so-"James stopped talking when Riley, Rhuben, Jo, Camille, and Stephanie glared at him. "Sorry, I'll shut up now."

"Good," Riley took command of the situation. "The guys' dorm building is the closest one, so we'll sneak them back in first and then the girls can get in later."

"Why do you get to go in first?" Carlos asked, not wanting the night to end.

"Because we're quieter." Rhuben replied and lightly hit him on the back of his helmet. She frowned when Logan shushed her harshly as the smacking sound echoed across the quiet grounds. "Sorry, Logie." She whispered back and rubbed his shoulder. "You really need to relax."

"And _you_ really need to care more."

"Touché.'

"Dude, why are you wearing sunglasses outside and at night?" Riley questioned as she turned to WayneWayne and pulled the object off of his face. He reached for them.

"Because I-"

"Don't even try it," Riley interrupted and then smirked. "I can see right through you. You're just acting like a bad boy to try and get respect when I can tell that you're just a normal teenager like the rest of the guys." She shook her head. "I don't know what your problem with them is, but don't mess with Logan. And that's a fair warning."

"What are you going to do?" WayneWayne snorted at her, his brown eyes flashing. "Hit me?"

"Yep." Riley replied simply and then smirked. "The only difference is that because _I'm _a girl, you can't hit me back." She shoved his sunglasses into her backpack and continued walking.

WayneWayne stared after her before following her and the others again.

They had just about reached the boys' dormitory when Logan stopped short, causing everyone else to walk into him. "What'd you stop for?" James asked irritably as he moved his hair back into place. "You just messed up my hair."

"Did you hear that?" Logan asked his eyes wide as he looked around.

"Hear what?" Jo complained. "My ribs cracking? Because I think I heard something pop when I walked into Kendall."

"No, I heard footsteps." Logan replied.

"We're the only ones walking out here," Dak pointed out. "Who's footsteps could you have-"

"Shh!" Logan shushed him and they all listened carefully. Sure enough, they could hear some footsteps echoing across the quad. Almost as soon as Logan had shushed them, they heard the footsteps change directions and head their way rapidly. "It's security! Every man for himself!" He hissed and started running towards the guys' dorm building as the girls split up and ran in the opposite direction.

As they approached Batten Hall, Dak and WayneWayne darted ahead of them and tried the many windows. They tried the bathroom window and it slid open and the two boys quickly slid inside. Kendall, Logan, James, and Carlos followed them and they didn't stop running until they made it to the guys' dorm room.

"Well, that was fun." Carlos grinned as he tried to catch his breath. "We should do it more often."

"Speak for yourself." Logan replied, sprawled across the floor.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, the pacing will pick up from here, but we have a lot to do in this story, so we hope that you guys will continue to read it. It was fun having to write them running around campus after curfew while trying not to get caught. Sorry the KendallxJo part was short, but I hope you guys liked it anyway. **

**Some of the scenes from this chapter came from my Just my Luck story 'You've Got a Friend' both this and that are owned by me. As for the cursing, I wanted to show how they're teenagers and teenagers curse, so there you go. I had messed up the beginning of the chapter at first, so I've gone back and changed it (Dak was supposed to go with Riley and Rhuben, not their brothers). If you read the first part, then you'll want to read it again. The next chapter will be up soon.**

**Cheers,**

**-Riley**

**Belt up – Shut up**

**Hoon - Idiot**

**Irrits - Irritating; you're giving me the irrits  
**


	11. Chapter 11: Big Time Aftermath

**~Chapter Eleven – Big Time Aftermath~**

* * *

The Jacksons all looked up at Ronan as he stormed into the kitchen, holding his laptop under his arm. They looked at him curiously before glancing over at the clock, before looking back at him. They didn't say a word, they just sat in their seats chewing their cereal.

"_Well_?" he asked, looking around at each of them.

"'Well' what?" Patrick asked before shoving a spoonful of Cocoa Puffs into his mouth. A line of chocolate milk dribbled down his cheek and he wiped the back of his hand over his mouth. "We're out of milk by the way."

"Aren't you supposed to be in a meeting right now?" Riley asked, tilting her head to the side.

"That's beside the point," Ronan waved his hand in the air. He let out a heavy sigh. "I'm disappointed in you guys. You know the rules! So why is it that you came back home after curfew."

A confused look crossed Sydney's face as Riley, Rhuben, Patrick, and Noah exchanged guilty glances. "How'd you find out?" Riley asked after a moment of silence.

"Yeah, I mean, we were quiet when we got back in here," Rhuben added. Ronan wordlessly opened his laptop, using one hand to type in his password before turning it around to face his kids. They all leaned forward to look at the screen. "It's our website, so wha-?"

"Riles, you're an idiot," Patrick commented once he noticed the latest blog post his sister had put up. "Why would you go ahead and post on here about sneaking back in after curfew?"

"So many people look at our site," Noah commented, his bottom lip jutting out slightly. "Ooh, everyone else is probably going to get in trouble too."

Ronan raised her eyebrows in Riley's direction and she gave him a sweet smile. "Would you believe, that we were here all last night and in my insomnia state I wrote this blog post about what we could do if we _had_ stayed out past curfew?" she asked before batting her eyelashes. Ronan gave her a 'Give me a break' look and she deflated. "Sorry."

"Apparently you forgot that I always monitor your website," Ronan said as he closed his laptop with a loud snap before pinching the bridge of his nose. "All of you are grounded; the girls for two weeks and the boys for one."

"We didn't do anything!" Sydney wailed, a troubled look crossing his face. "That's not fair."

"Don't think I haven't figured out why you three were acting so weird last night" Ronan warned the small boy. "You were covering for them while they tried to sneak back in." Sydney didn't bother to deny it, but lifted the corner of his mouth up into a small smile. "And for that you'll be punished too."

"Now when you say grounded, what does that exactly entail?" Patrick asked, his hands folded on the table.

"You go to classes, you go to sports practice, and you come straight back here," Ronan replied, crossing his arms over his chest. Patrick opened his mouth and Ronan put up a hand. "We have plenty of food here for you to eat and if you just _have _to buy your food, you buy it and come back here. Understand?"

"Yes," the five of them muttered in reply.

"Good, I won't be back late," Ronan replied as he started to pack up his things. "Pat, Noh, keep an eye out for your brother while he's taking classes today." He grabbed his keys and made his way out to the front door.

"He thinks he's gotten all the bases covered," Riley smirked, leaning towards her siblings. "I've found a loophole. He never said we couldn't go over to Julius's place."

They all looked up as Ronan re-opened the door and leaned back into the room. "And don't think you can get out of this by going over to your brother's apartment. I've already called him and told him what's happened. While I'm out, he's to call here every once in a while to check on you."

"It's worse when Julius is mad at us," Sydney commented, stirring his left over cereal. He pouted, slumping in his chair.

"Sorry guys, I wasn't thinking," Riley stated, scratching her forehead. "I thought it would be something cool our fans would like. I'll go update the blog now. This should really give everyone a kick. I can see it now: FAMOUS BAND STILL GETS GROUNDED!"

"I didn't do anything," Sydney continued to pout.

"Finish your cereal and then I'll walk you to class," Rhuben said a she ran her fingers through his hair. He sighed and reached for his spoon as the phone rang.

"I'll get it," Noah announced, picking his empty bowl off the table. He placed it in the sink and grabbed the phone from the counter, jumping up to sit on it. "How ya going?" Everyone stayed silent as they watched him. He put his hand over the mouthpiece and said, "It's Dizzy."

"Wonder what lover-boy wants," Patrick grinned over at Rhuben who made a face back at him. "That's attractive. I honestly don't know what he sees in you."

"I could say the same for the girls that find you attractive," she shot back. Patrick stuck his tongue out at her before going back to his cereal.

"Yeah, we're going to be at practice today," Noah continued his conversation with Dak. "Big game's coming up, can't miss it. See you later. Hoo roo."

"What'd he want?" Riley asked, coming out of her room with her laptop case on her shoulder.

"He wanted to know if we got into any trouble with curfew," Noah replied setting his phone back into its cradle. "And to see if we were going to practice today."

"Can I come?" Sydney asked, smacking his lips after he finished his bowl of cereal. "I don't want to be stuck here by myself after school."

"You could come to run with me, I'm going to cross country practice while Rhubes going to help Logan with wakeboarding," Riley suggested as she heard a knock at the door. "That should be Jo and them. Hurry up, Rhu."

"I'm going, I'm going," Rhuben replied, hurrying to put her dishes in the sink before grabbing her backpack by her chair. Sydney shouldered his back and followed Rhuben to the door. "Syd, just text Riley about whichever you want to do. I'll see you guys later, stay out of trouble."

"Kay," Patrick and Noah replied in unison as they went to get their bags as Riley opened the front door.

"Hi, bye, gotta walk Sydney to class," Rhuben said as she side-stepped WayneWayne before making her way down the hall.

"What are you doing here, Dooley?" Riley asked, raising her eyebrows as she stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her. Patrick and Noah's first period class that day was cancelled so they still had another hour before they had to leave.

"Are you always crabby this early in the morning?" WayneWayne asked, raising his eyebrows. "Look, I just came to get my sunglasses back. It's not like I want to be here."

"Riiight, a boy doesn't want to be in an _all girls_ dorm," Riley replied, rolling her eyes. "I must be the luckiest girl in the world because you came looking for me."

"Don't flatter yourself," WayneWayne replied as he rolled his eyes this time. "Sunglasses, please."

"What, are they your security blanket?" Riley asked with a teasing smirk. "No, I think I'll just keep them for a while, if it'll help you be weaned off them. Maybe I'll give them back for your birthday." She waved before hurrying off to her class. WayneWayne growled under his breath as he followed her at a slower pace.

* * *

"Hey Riley,' Kendall greeted the raven-haired girl after he nearly collided with her on his way out of his English class.

"Oh, hey, I didn't see you there," Riley said giving him a smile in return. "So, guess whose birthday is coming up?"

Kendall scrunched his face up in thought. "Um, Carlos is the only person I know who has a birthday in August."

"Right," Riley agreed with a nod. "I was helping him with his course selections and I saw when his birthday is. But anyway, guess what I got for him."

"A bounce house," Kendall said with a smirk.

"How'd you know?" Riley asked, a shocked look crossing her face. Kendall laughed and tugged the brochure, that was sticking out between two of her books, out and held it up to her. She chuckled as she started to fold it. "We tend to go all out for birthdays here."

"Hadn't noticed," Kendall joked. "The first day I got here it was someone's birthday, and they had sky writing above their dorm."

"You don't think it's too childish?" Riley asked, un uneasy look crossing her face.

"Carlos is the type of person that gets excited every year to sit on Santa's lap at the mall," Kendall replied, making Riley laugh. "I think he's going to have a field day with this one. He probably won't stop hugging you for the rest of his life." He then scratched the back of his neck. "I didn't even think about what to get him this year."

"The girls and I were talking and we're thinking about throwing him a surprise party in the Student Union," Riley added. "We can rent out the place for a few hours. Kind of away to make you guys feel welcome here so it's kinda like a 'Happy Birthday/Welcome to CABS' type thing."

"Sounds good, although if you're making this a surprise thing, I suggest you don't put it up on your blog," Kendall commented, causing Riley to roll her eyes. "I'm going to sign up to your guys' site later, but I couldn't help but see what you wrote and what kind of punishment you guys got."

"Get all your jokes in now for once classes are over, I have to go straight to sports practice and then I have to go straight back to my dorm," Riley stated, rolling her eyes. "The only downside to having your parent work here but there are some perks as well. How 's hockey going?"

"Good, I've been named captain of the team already," Kendall said with a pleased smile. "Then again, I haven't actually been named to be part of the team as I haven't really tried out yet." His smile faded a little bit. "Carlos is trying out too but James and Logan want to do the surf and wakeboarding thing. It's kinda weird 'cause we've always played on a team together."

"They can do both," Riley reminded him. "Hockey games are usually week nights and surf and wakeboarding competitions are generally all Saturday mornings. The only problem would be when play off time comes around."

"You know about hockey?" Kendall asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, I mean, I've watched Mighty Ducks a million times when I was a kid, and I catch games on TV when I can, generally rooting for Anaheim, but I mean, I'm from Cali so I kinda have to root for the home team y'know?" Riley replied with a shrug. "But that's cool, being named captain. They generally don't let newcomers have that position, you must be really good."

"Well, actually I'm _co-_captain," Kendall replied as a pained expression crossed her face. "With WayneWayne. We got into a fight on the first day and he challenged me to a one on one game, and the coach saw the whole thing and wanted the two of us to do it."

"Which is why he's always doing the badass thing to you guys," Riley snapped her fingers putting two and two together. "He's just going to keep pushing people away from him the more he does that."

"I don't get what he has against me, but he just keeps rubbing me the wrong way," Kendall commented, shifting his backpack to his opposite shoulder.

"You and me both, dude, don't worry," Riley replied, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Oh and Jo wanted me to ask you when would be a good time for you two to meet up again for you to help her with her song for music class."

"Oh," Kendall blinked at the sudden change of topic but smiled. "Um, anytime is fine, I guess. She's a really good guitar player."

"And singer too, she just needs to get used to performing for people," Riley added. "I signed her up for a talent show last year and she nearly passed out before throwing a fit about the whole thing."

"Well maybe I could help," Kendall said with a shrug. "Hey, what did Gustavo and your dad want the other day?"

"Oh, well, I can tell you as long as you don't tell James," Riley said moving to stand in front of Kendall, starting to walk backwards. "It's bad enough he can't tell me and Rhuben apart, but if he found out about this, he'd never leave us alone."

"Promise," Kendall replied after marking an invisible X on his chest with his index finger. "What's up?"

"Gustavo Rocque wants us and Dak to keep an eye out for people with amazing talent that he could possibly sign later on this year," she replied with a shrug. "Like I said before we can't enter because we're already signed, but we decided to help out. Actually, he more or less threatened us, but it's pretty cool. All the departments have famous people who come and check out people."

"Trust me if I told James, I wouldn't be able to stand living in the same dorm with him," Kendall deadpanned, causing Riley to smile. He then glanced at his watch. "I'll catch ya later, I'm meeting up with Katie so we can take our computers to IT, we're having internet problems."

"Cool, see ya," Riley replied giving a small wave. She turned around just in time to run into someone, falling to the ground. "Watch where you're going!"

"Why don't you?"

Riley glared at WayneWayne as she pulled herself to her feet. "Oh, I'm sorry, do your sunglasses help you see?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "Maybe you should just swing for glasses?"

"Look, could you…_please_," WayneWayne made a pained expression as he uttered the last word. He then sighed heavily and carried on in a soft voice. "Give them back? They're really important to me." Riley stared back at him, wondering whether he was being sincere or not before pulling the sunglasses out of her bag and handing them over. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," she replied in a quiet tone before moving past him. "And for the record, you don't need to wear them all the time. You don't look that bad without 'em."

WayneWayne paused before sliding his sunglasses back onto his face just as Dak walked up to him. "Hey buddy. How're your classes?" he asked.

"Not too bad, man," WayneWayne replied turning to look at him.

"Hey, you got your sunglasses back," Dak clapped him on the back. "How'd you do that? Riley never gives things up that easily."

"I just…I said 'please'," WayneWayne replied with a shrug.

"And that's it?" Dak asked, raising an eyebrow. "And she didn't punch you or…anything?"

"No, I just had to ask nicely," WayneWayne replied, shaking his head back and forth, a small smile coming to his face. "That was it."

* * *

"Nervous?" Rhuben asked, catching Logan's attention as they took the school shuttle down to the lake.

She, Logan, and a few of Rhuben's wakeboarding teammates: two girls named Maxine and Ashley, and two boys named Jett and Craig were sitting on the bus with them along with their coach Mike Wicker. She had explained to him that they generally didn't have the whole team out until practice/the season actually started so those that wanted to try out, and those that were serious about practicing and the sport could have some time to themselves.

"Just a little," Logan replied, turning away from the window to face her. "What about you? Have you had the chance to practice over the summer?"

"No, I was really busy," Rhuben admitted, drumming her fingers on her knee. "But you never really forget how to do everything, it's like riding a bike."

"Well, prepare to see me fall on my face a lot, I haven't done this since I moved from Texas," Logan replied, feeling his stomach starting to twist up in knots as the bus pulled off the main road and onto a wooded trail. He could see little bits of the lake off in the distance through the trees. "I doubt I remember anything."

"You won't know until you get out there," Rhuben replied. "So, you , Kendall, Carlos and James seem to be great friends."

"We are, we never really leave Kendall's house," Logan said with a fond smile. "They're like the brothers I've never had. Not that I hadn't missed you guys or anything." He quickly supplied the last part, causing Rhuben to smile a little bit. "You've made plenty of friends too."

"Well, with Dak it was bound to happen," Rhuben replied, scratching at her ear. "I mean, he first started off doing Broadway shows, yeah? Then he moved into the music business and started recording songs, and acting in movies and then before I knew it he was this big teen heartthrob that any girl in the world wants to date." She turned in her seat, her back resting against the windows and faced him. "We met him before he got all big and famous and now, lucky me, ever since he's wanted to date me. I dare you to Google Search him and try and find at least one article about him that doesn't have mention of me."

Logan laughed as she continued her explanation. "We met Stephanie, Camille, and Jo when they were taking a tour of the school. If it wasn't for us they wouldn't have decided on going to CABS. We've been friends since. Our group of friends has been getting big ever since our da—uh…since we moved out here. Dak's sister, Lizzie; you'll meet her on Parent's Weekend, she goes to a Dance Academy but comes out to the games a lot. She's bets friends with Patrick and Noah, and Sydney loves her because she always gives him attention. And now you guys are here."

"Cool," Logan replied as the bus pulled up at the edge of the road. Rhuben and everyone else on the bus got to their feet, grabbing their wakeboards and their bags from the overhead compartments. Logan followed their lead before getting off the bus, stepping down onto the sandy ground.

"Alright everyone, follow me," Mike shouted, getting everyone's attention as he made his way towards one of the docks.

There were a couple of boats out on the water, but they had inner tubes hanging off the backs of them, showing that it was a few families having fun. Everyone marched behind Mike into a fairly big sized boat, taking hold of life jackets before taking their seats. Craig helped Mike remove the ropes that anchored the boat to the dock. Before Logan knew it, they were speeding out across the water.

"Alright, who wants to go first?" Mike asked as he slowed the boat. Rhuben and Maxine thrust htier hands into the air. "Sorry Maxie, Rhuben was a little bit faster than you."

"Alright," Rhuben grinned as she kicked off her flip flops before pulling her t-shirt up over her head to reveal a bright purple bikini top. She had on black board shorts over her bikini bottoms. Ashley handed her a hair band and she twisted her hair up into a loose ponytail. She flashed Logan a thumbs up before grabbing her board and throwing it in the water before jumping in after it.

"Shouldn't you be wearing a life vest?" Logan called after her, glancing at the abandoned life preserver.

"Don't worry about her, dude, she'll be fine," Jett said from where he was sitting, next to Mike in the boat. "Without Rhuben, we wouldn't be half as good."

"Whatever you say," Logan sighed, taking his seat as Ashley called to Mike to start the boat.

Logan watched as Rhuben floated above the water, holding onto the chord that was attached to the back of the boat. He had to admit that she was really good, better than he had remembered. She held the handle of the chord with one hand and waved with the other, steadily climbing waves and leaping over them at the last minute, after an especially impressive leap and spin Logan cupped his mouth with his hands and hollered, "Yeah! Ride those waves, Bella!"

He laughed as Rhuben shot him a thumbs up and somersaulted into the air, dropping the chord and hitting the water, board first, with a splash. She rose to the surface seconds later as the boat spun back around to pick her up. She kicked the board off her feet and scrambled back into the boat, switching places with Maxine. As she stated Logan saw that she was good, but not nearly as good as Rhuben had been.

"Sick ride," he commented as Rhuben sat on one of the many seats, wringing water out of her hair.

"Thanks," she replied with a grin. "You going to get out there today or are you just going to watch? We are out here for you, ya know."

"Yeah, I know," Logan replied, turning to look out over the lake houses they passed. "You guys are really good. It's no wonder you have all those trophies."

"You're stalling, Logie," Rhuben pointed out, a grin coming to her face. Her white teeth popped out against her tan skin. "You're scared aren't you?"

"I wouldn't say I was _scared_," Logan replied, laughing nervously. "I just… I haven't done this since I left Texas and…I don't know if I still have the muscle memory for it or anything." Rhuben stopped what she was doing and looked up at Logan a serious look crossing her face.

"Logan Philip Mitchell if there's anything I've learned about fear, it's that it can really fuck up your life if you don't do anything about it whenever you have the chance," she stated, her blue eyes boring into her brown ones.

"What do you mean?" he asked, looking back at her. '_I've never seen her this serious before. And she was a pretty serious kid.' _Rhuben called to Mike that Maxine wanted to go faster and sped up the boat. "You're not scared of anything."

"I was scared that day you convinced Riles and I to go to the creek with you, when you had no idea where you were going," she replied, arching an eyebrow, causing Logan to smile at the memory. "There are a lot of things I'm scared of Logan, and unfortunately, it took me years to do something about it and it's really changed the way I've looked at life." She shook head letting out a sigh. "Anyway, either you get in the water and keep doing it until you know whether or not you've made the team, or regret it every day for the rest of your life."

"Of course you throw the creek thing back in my face," Logan crossed his arms over his chest, smiling as she laughed a little bit. He let out a big breath, alright, I'll try it."

"That's my Logie-Bear," Rhuben said with a teasing grin as she grabbed a life vest, holding it out to him. She burst out into loud laughter when Logan cringed at his nickname before telling Mike to stop the boat. Logan turned around and slid his arms through the holes of the life vest before buckling it closed. "You still hate that name?"

"What do you think?" he replied, grabbing the wakeboard that he was borrowing.

The two of them sat in silence until Mike slowed in the middle of the lake. Maxine climbed back into the boat, smiling from ear to ear, shaking water out of her pig tails. Logan sat on the platform, slipped his feet into the bindings on his wakeboard, and hopped into the water, letting out an involuntary sigh as the warm water slid over his body.

"Let him stay out for a while, and get used to everything again," Rhuben said immediately turning to Mike. "Try taking him out towards some of the rails."

"You sure, Rhuben?" Mike asked, peering at her from over the top of his sunglasses. "Even you said yourself he hasn't done this in a while."

"Trust me, he'll be fine," Rhuben replied, patting him on the shoulder.

"Whatever you say," Mike replied, watching Logan bob in the water, waiting for the signal to start the boat.

"Calm down, Logan," he coached himself as his heartbeat quickened as he bobbed in the water. A splash next to him told him that the chord to the boat was thrown out to him. He grabbed the black object in both hands, licking his lips. "You can do this. It's just like riding a bike, you never really forget. You can do this." He let out a breath of air before giving Rhuben a thumbs up, the 'OK' sign to show that he was ready to go.

As soon as Logan heard the engine start, he immediately relaxed and allowed the boat to pull him up. The boat motor left a triangular wake behind it as the boat moved through the water. Logan moved outside the wake by going over one of the small waves. Then he turned back inward and used one wave as a skateboarding ramp to take off. He sailed over the wake and used the wave on the opposite side as a ramp to land.

'_I did it._' A smile came to Logan's face as he slowly opened his eyes, realizing that he was still standing up. As soon as he had gotten into the air, he closed his eyes, afraid of what was going to happen. He tightened his grip on the chord and did the same maneuvering a few more times, getting used to it again.

After a while, Logan forgot about everyone watching him. The drone of the motor helped him zone out; only to focus on what he was doing at the time. No one else was there, it was just him, the boat, and the water. His only intention for our wakeboarding trip today was to just get his wakeboarding legs back. Maybe he'd try some tricks when he went out the next time.

'_Might as well, I'm doing a pretty good job now'_ he thought, pressing his lips together. He tried a few of the easy ones—a front flip, a scarecrow—and he found that his balance was getting better and better the longer he was staying on, so he decided to try something a little bit harder. He tried a backroll and landed it perfectly.

Mike put his hand up in the air and started rotating it in a circle, signifying a turn. Logan grinned and leaned to the side as the boat turned, carrying him with it. The boat was headed towards a rail. Logan maneuvered himself out to the far left side of the boat, popped up onto the rail, and slid across it, landing nice and softly on the other side.

"Woo hoo!" Logan cheered, letting go of the chord with one hand, punching the air with his fist.

Rhuben punched both her fists into the air before she started clapping, yelling something at him, but he couldn't hear it over the sound of the whipping wind and the hum of the boat's motor. Logan gave Rhuben a thumbs up, gesturing for Mike to speed up, and immediately felt the increased speed. The hum of the boat got louder as the waves got bigger. Logan bent his knees, crouching towards the surface of the water as he moved to jump off the right wake.

He smiled as he launched himself up into the air. He spun in a circle twice, his hands quickly moving to let go and regrab the chord in front of him before he landed back down on the water. He immediately arced back out to pick up more speed before jumping off the opposite wake, executing a perfect 360 grab before landing it, and doing a 540 grab, landing that as well.

Satisfied with himself, Logan signaled for Mike to stop the boat. Rhuben and Maxine relayed the message and the boat immediately slowed down. Logan laughed in triumph as he dropped the chord. As the sound of the motor faded away, Logan sank back down into the warm water. He could hear everyone clapping for him.

"Way to go, Logie," Rhuben shouted, her hands cupped around her mouth. Logan popped the bindings of the boots on the board and pulled his feet out. He grabbed the board and swam to the back of the boat, putting up his board first before climbing on board. As soon as he took off his life jacket, Rhuben had her arms wrapped around him in a tight hug. "That was absolutely _bonzer_! I knew you could do it. Just like riding a bike, yeah?"

"Yeah, that was totally awesome," Logan grinned, hugging her back.

"You're such a hoon! You said you could barely remember how to do anything," Rhuben cried, lightly punching him on the arm. Logan gave her a confused look. "Show off." Logan just shrugged. He had no idea how he had remembered any of that so he couldn't really explain it to her. "Do stuff like that at the tryouts and you're a shoo in for the team."

* * *

**A/N: Don't worry, you'll see more of Patrick and Noah and Sydney and Katie, and everyone else in the upcoming chapters. Hope you guys like this. This chapter was mainly focusing on Logan and his wakeboarding and a little bit more with Riley and WayneWayne. Hope you liked it.**

**Cheers,**

**-Rhubes**


	12. Chapter 12: Big Time Rush

**.:Chapter Twelve – Big Time Rush:.**

* * *

"WE'RE LATE!"

Logan's eyes shot open as the door to his and Kendall's shared bedroom blasted open, hitting the opposite wall. "DON'T JUST SIT THERE YOU TURDS, WE'RE LATE!" James shouted as he jumped on top of Kendall.

"Ouch!" Kendall shouted. "James, get off!"

"What do you mean we're late?" Logan asked, his eyes widening as he sat up, frantically trying to pull his legs out from the sheets on his bed. "We can't be late! I'm never late!" Logan managed to free his legs, but he then fell out of his bed in his haste. He scrambled over to his clock and grabbed it, staring at the time and willing for it to be a joke. "OH NO, WE'RE LATE!"

"Hurry," Kendall grabbed a shirt that was on the ground and threw it at Logan. "Get dressed!" He then turned to James and shoved him. "You, get out." James turned and hurried to the room that he and Carlos shared and Kendall and Logan could hear their frantic shouts and screams. "What?" Kendall asked as he turned to Logan, noticing he was staring at the shirt that Kendall had tossed him.

"Is this clean?" Logan asked as he held up the shirt.

"Logan!" Kendall shouted as he jumped into a pair of jeans before pulling on his shoes.

"Ok, ok!" Logan pulled on the shirt and grabbed a pair of jeans, pulling them on quickly. He put on his shoes and gathered his books, grabbing his backpack. "Let's go! Let's go!" Kendall and Logan quickly ran out into the common area, bumping into James and Carlos as they ran around the kitchen, trying to grab a quick breakfast. "Oh, just eat a banana!" he knocked the bowl that Carlos was carrying out of his hands. "C'mon!"

Kendall grabbed four sets of keys off of a the hook by the front door and tossed three of them to his friends before he locked the door behind them and they all ran off to Presser Hall, nearly knocking over Katie as she walked to the dining hall.

"Watch where you're going you weirdoes!" she shouted after them.

"Sorry Baby Sister," Kendall replied as he stopped running and jogged in place. "We're in a rush."

"A Big Time Rush," Carlos added.

"We're late to class." James elaborated.

"And we have to go like _now_." Logan screeched, waving his arm with a watch on it in the air.

Kendall turned to go, but then stopped when he noticed that Katie didn't have her backpack or her books with her. He stopped jogging in place. "Correct me if I'm wrong, Katie, but don't you have a class this morning?"

"It got cancelled." Katie replied with a smile.

"Lucky!" Carlos whined.

"LET'S GO!" Logan moved behind Carlos and started to push on his back, causing the four boys to start running again. They ran as fast as they could to Presser and as soon as they got inside, they fell silent, but still walking quick enough to try and get to class. "We can't just barge in there; you heard what Duke said the first day," he whispered loudly.

"Well, how do you propose that we get in there?" James shot back.

There was silence and Carlos, James, and Logan turned to Kendall, who had a hand up to his chin, rapidly shifting his eyes back and forth. "I've got an idea!" he suddenly stated. The four boys got to their class and crouched down behind the door.

Kendall pulled a notebook out of his backpack and then grabbed a sharpie from the side of Logan's. He quickly scribbled something onto it and turned around and the four boys slowly raised themselves and peered into the window of the classroom. They ducked back down when Duke turned towards them, and then raised themselves up again when they were sure the coast was clear. Kendall looked around the small space he could see, to make sure Duke was preoccupied, then tapped on the window. Jo, who seemed to be bored and staring around the room, looked towards the door when she heard the sound.

Kendall waved to get her attention and then held up the notebook that had the word '**HELP**' written on it. Jo raised her eyebrows and looked over towards Duke before looking back at the boys, mouthing 'What's up?'

'Help us sneak in' Kendall mouthed back.

Jo looked around again and then held up a hand, letting them know to wait for a five seconds. Kendall nodded and then lowered the sign, waiting. He slowly cracked the door open and listened as Jo cleared her throat.

"Duke, there's someone at the door for you." She called.

"What is she doing?" James hissed, starting to panic.

"She's just bringing him right over to us," Carlos added, and then rolled his eyes. "Wow, you sure know how to pick em', Kendall."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Kendall whispered back.

"All of you guys just shut up!" Logan snapped back.

"Are you sure?" Duke asked, they boys could hear footsteps moving towards the door. "I didn't hear anything." All of a sudden a phone went off, and due to the fact that they were so close to the door, they could tell that it was Duke's phone that was ringing. "Oh, sorry guys, I've got to take this." The footsteps moved away from the door and Kendall opened the door wider and watched as Duke disappeared into his office.

"C'mon."

Kendall pushed the door open and the four boys crawled into the room, gathering the attention of everyone else, making them laugh. Kendall stopped crawling and looked up when he noticed the sound of a guitar playing a note each time they took a step.

"Guitar Dude, knock it off." Jo laughed over at him.

"Sorry, but the situation just ask for the Mission Impossible music." Guitar Dude replied as he moved his guitar aside.

"You might want to hurry and sit down." Dak added, although he was laughing as well. He waved his phone around. "Duke is gonna come back any second."

The boys quickly clambered into the only open seats. One to the left and right of Riley, which Logan took the one that was to the right of Riley, sitting in between her and her sister, James too the one to the left. Kendall quickly sat down next to Jo and Carlos took the empty seat at the Jennifer's table. He smiled at them and they gave short smiles back.

"Huh," James made a grunting sound. "What do they see in him that they don't see in me?" he asked, looking over at the Jennifers and Carlos as one of the Jennifer's asked him something, causing him to grin and respond animatedly.

"I wouldn't put much stock in it," Riley muttered, her head bent over a notebook, doodling. "They're probably only talking to him because they think he's some sort of bad boy by being late to class." She lifted her head and looked at James. "But they're probably gonna drop him in about ten seconds, so you don't have to worry." She then raised her eyebrows and turned to Logan. "Speaking of which, I never thought that you would ever be late to class. It seemed like you were going to wag it Logie-Be-"

Logan reached out and slapped a hand over Riley's mouth and Rhuben laughed at the exchange. Logan then made a face and pulled his hand away, wiping it on his chest. "You really got to stop doing that." He commented, looking at her darkly, although his eyes showed amusement.

"And you should have known about…" she started to count off on her fingers. "Eight years ago, not to put your hand over my mouth." Riley then smiled sweetly and Logan laughed before giving her a one-armed hug.

"So why were you late?" Rhuben asked, getting his attention again. "You're the one that's always in class about twenty minutes early."

"I overslept." Logan replied.

"That's it?" Rhuben rolled her eyes and snorted. "Wow, you really know how to live, Logie." She gave a half smile, letting him know that she was just teasing him. Logan rolled his eyes and pulled a notebook out of his backpack. "Anyway, today the class is letting Duke know what the name of their group is and we're having a lecture today."

Kendall and Jo turned around and Carlos headed over to the group as soon as they heard what Rhuben had said. "Have you guys decided on a name yet?" Dak asked as he leaned forward from the table behind them.

"No, we were in such a Big Time Rush this morning that we didn't even think about it." James stated as he shook his head. He let out a huge sigh. "What can we do guys?"

"Well, you want the name to be catchy, something that everyone will remember." Jo stated with a shrug. "So, why don't you think of a name of something that you know or are good at?"

"We're good at hockey and there aren't many names that you can get out of that." Kendall told her. He then looked at Logan, Carlos, and James who were staring at him and threw his hands up into the air. "Oh come on, I thought of the way to get in the classroom, I can't do everything for you guys."

"I know the feeling." Riley muttered and was hit on the arm by her sister. "Ow!" She started to rub her arm. "That actually hurt you know, those were the fingertips!" She then frowned and whipped her head around towards Dak and WayneWayne. "What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing." They replied in unison, abruptly stopping their laughter.

"The way I see it, you guys already have your name anyway," WayneWayne stated, sounding as if it was painful for him to admit it. "Just think really hard about what you just said and you've got it."

"Ok, what's up with you?" Kendall asked as he turned to WayneWayne, narrowing his eyes. "You have done nothing but cause me and my buds, grief ever since we got here and now you're helping us?" He crossed his arms over his chest. "There's something wrong with-"

"Has anyone ever told you that you can be really stubborn?" Dak interrupted.

"You've never seen him when he thinks he's right about something even when he is totally and completely wrong." Logan snorted. "So it doesn't surprise me that he's being stubborn about this."

"Yeah, well-"

"See Jo, these are the exact kind of people that you _shouldn't _be hanging out with." A boy their age with sandy brown hair, green eyes, and bright white teeth, stated as he walked over to the table that she and Kendall were sitting at and sat down on the end. "They're not going to do anything but bring you down."

"Jett, I told you before," Jo sighed as she brought her hair behind her ears. "None of your clever tactics to make me go out on a date with you is going to work," she gave a pained smile. "I have a boyfriend, remember."

"Yes, but are you really in love with him?" Jett asked.

"Yes," Jo crossed her arms over her chest and looked at him sharply. "I am."

"That's Jett Stetson," Riley explained to the boys. "He's one of the actors on New Town High and, unfortunately, is really conceited, thinks that he has a talent for singing." She gave a short cough. "Think being the keyword. And he's been after Jo ever since he first laid eyes on her."

"And as you can see, it hasn't been working well." Rhuben added as Jett went back to his side of the room.

"You have a boyfriend?" Kendall asked raising his eyebrows as Jo let out a sigh, rolling her eyes.

"Well, actually, you see-"

"Sorry about that class," Duke called as he walked out of his office. "I had a phone call that I had to make," he paused and scanned the room, as if trying to figure out whether or not one of them had just done it. When his eyes landed on Dak, he gave a nervous smile and slid his phone into his pockets. "Anyway," he then turned his eyes towards Kendall, Logan, Carlos, and James. "Have you boys decided what you're going to make your group name?"

"Uh," Logan's mouth dropped open as he tried to think off the top of his head. "Uh, our group name is…uh."

"Uh…" Kendall and James repeated.

"Big Time Rush!" Carlos blurted. "Our group name is Big Time Rush!"

"Big Time Rush huh…" Duke rubbed his chin in thought. "BTR…I like it." He smiled and grabbed a notebook and started to write in it. "Kendall, Logan, Carlos, and James are now known in this class as Big Time Rush. Nice choice boys."

* * *

Camille grinned as she packed up her backpack after her private drama lesson and then headed over to her Drama class. She had just been told about an audition, a _really big _audition that she could try out for and knew that if she could nail it, it would really start her career. But now, all she needed was to tell someone her good news before she burst.

Walking to the little theater (which was situated above the large theater that they used for production), Camille looked around for her friends, and grinned when she caught sight of WayneWayne. '_It's funny_' she thought to herself as she hurried over to him. '_We haven't seen each other in such a long time, and he's changed so much, but we're still best friends. It's like nothing between the two of us have changed at all_.'

"Wally!" she called as she ran over to him. "Wally, you have to hear this!"

WayneWayne, who was with Dak, stopped and looked around, making sure that no one had heard her call him by his real name, before shoving Dak on the arm, obviously annoyed with him making fun of his name.

"What's up, Cammie?" he asked her, using his old nickname for her, a second before he was glomped into a hug by her. "I'm guessing you have great news." He added with a chuckle as Camille stepped back and started to bounce up and down on her toes. "Or you're just extremely hyper."

"Or high." Dak added, receiving a slap on the arm by Camille.

"You know that I don't do drugs, Dak." She stated and then rolled her eyes before the smile slid onto her face again. "No, you guys won't believe the news I have to tell you, and you guys are the first to know so you should feel special." She took a breath and cleared her throat dramatically. "I have the opportunity to audition for a new major motion picture directed by…wait for it…James Cameron."

"Whoa! No way!" Dak cried, his eyes flying open.

"What kind of movie?" WayneWayne demanded and then looked confused. "Wait, if you get the part, what about school?"

"Oh, don't worry about that," Camille shook her head. "Here at CABS, they make it that you can work around your schooling schedule to get parts like this," she shrugged. "One of the many great things about going to this school. "Anyway, it's a love movie, I'm not sure about the whole thing, and my part won't be major or anything, but I'll get a lot of face time if I get it."

"That's awesome, Cammie!" WayneWayne grinned and gave Camille a hug.

"Does this mean that you're going to start slapping us again?" Dak asked warily, as he reached a hand up and rubbed his cheek. "Because of you, in the winter my cheek goes numb that much faster than the rest of my body, when it's cold."

"Haha."

"Seriously, that's like, the best news ever."

"Thanks guys," Camille smiled and then turned to WayneWayne, looking at him oddly. "Hey, when did you get your sunglasses back?"

"Oh, Riley gave them back to him after he asked politely," Dak replied with a smirk. "And he said 'please'."

"And he lived?" Camille looked amused. "That doesn't sound like Riley."

"Well, maybe you don't know her as well as you thought," WayneWayne replied impatiently, and then changed the subject. "Anyway, are you going to the soccer game tomorrow?" He asked Camille.

"You better." Dak insisted teasingly.

"Yeah, I'm going." Camille replied and then asked WayneWayne the same question.

"I don't know, I haven't thought about it," He stated and shrugged carelessly. "I mean, sports aren't really my thing and-"

"You're playing ice hockey." Camille pointed out.

"You didn't let me finish," WayneWayne stated quickly. "I mean, I'm not the kind of person that watches sports in the audience. I mean, with all of those people that get so into the game, and then there are the soccer moms." He paused when he saw the stern look on Camille's face. "Who's going?" he asked with a heavy sigh.

"Everyone," Camille replied. "It's the first game of the year, the soccer teams never have try-outs and they start practices in the summer, that's why the first game starts so early, plus its like a _huge _thing here, the first game of the school year, besides Prom and Homecoming of course."

"Of course." WayneWayne replied sarcastically.

"Plus, we're having a surprise birthday party for Carlos in the Student Union after the game, so it will be even cooler." He slapped WayneWayne on the shoulder. "And you have to come to that, there are going to be a lot of girls there and I'm sure the Jennifers had their eyes on you."

"You had me on a lot of girls," WayneWayne replied with a smile.

"You guys are all the same," Camille snorted. "Stupid and girl crazy." She laughed as a group of people dancing went by them. "Flash Mob," she explained at their odd expressions. "It's a new class this year. C'mon, we're gonna be late."

"Oh, we wouldn't want that." Dak stated as the three started to walk to class. "Anyway, did you hear how Logan and the others were almost late to class?"

* * *

"Kates!"

Katie made a face as she turned around and then saw Park and Sol hurrying to catch up to her, pushing through the crowded hall of students. She hadn't heard anyone call her that name in a long time, and it was her dad that was the last one that had called her that, before he left her family. Now every time someone wants to call her that, she is sure to tell them that she never goes by that name and if they called her that again, she couldn't be afraid to punch them.

'_But I just met these guys, so they obviously wouldn't know._' Katie told herself as she waited for them to catch up to her. "Hey Park, Hey Sol." She greeted. "What's your hurry?" she asked when they caught up to her. "Where are Patrick and Noah?" she added as they started to walk down the hall again.

"They had to go to lunch detention because they were caught trying to make sure that their sisters didn't get caught staying out after curfew," Park replied as he adjusted the beanie that was on his head. "Apparently they along with your brother, and their friends were doing homework, were stuck out after curfew, and then snuck back in, but Riley was stupid enough to put it up on their website blog, and they got caught by Ronan."

"Yeah, I saw that blog myself," Katie added with a nod and then sucked in a breath before smiling. "So that means its not much longer until my brother gets caught."

"Yep," Sol agreed with a nod. "News and gossip spreads fast here, and while Riley and Rhuben are grounded for two weeks and Patrick, Noah, and Sydney are grounded for one, they might also have to serve detentions. But Patrick and Noah traded theirs in for a lunch detention today so they don't miss the soccer game tomorrow."

"I can understand that," Katie added with a nod.

"So, are you going?" Park asked.

"To what?"

"The soccer game?"

"I don't know," Katie shrugged one shoulder, moving her backpack to her other shoulder. "I mean, I'm not much of a sports nut and I only really go to ice hockey games to cheer on my brother." She thought about it for a minute. "How big are sports here?"

"It's as big as Prom and Homecoming," Sol replied with a nod. "And that's saying something because at this school every grade level can go to those dances rather than it only being for juniors and seniors." He then gave a flirty smile. "C'mon Katie, please go to the game? We want to have someone we know cheering us on." Katie continued to frown. "Plus, our best friend Lizzie is going and we want you to meet her."

"_Our _best friend?" Katie repeated.

"Yeah, Park, Patrick, Noah, and my best friend." Sol nodded. "Lizzie Zevon, Dak's little sister, she goes to the dance academy, she can be kind of girly, but she's pretty chill."

Katie's lip twitched, for some reason, that she didn't even had any idea why, she was kind of annoyed at the idea of it. '_It's probably because you're starting to make friend with them, some of the few friends that you actually have, and they already have a best friend_'. Katie shook her head as she scratched her forehead. '_That's most likely it._' She lifted her head and smiled a little when she saw the expression on the boys' faces. "I don't know, I have to ask Kendall and-"

"I'm sure he's going," Park interrupted. "This thing is so huge, like _everybody_ in the school goes." He shrugged and gave a sheepish smile. "Plus, it'll give you a good chance to meet more people, the food is good, and you'll feel really left out if you don't go, CABS is really big on school spirit."

"I'm not a school spirit kind of person." Katie denied.

"Not to go and get a big head, but we're actually pretty good and this game is against out rivals, Los Angeles Boarding School or LABS." Park smirked. "So we're always calling each other Bitches and Cab Drivers to put each other down."

Katie laughed at the two nicknames, she wasn't one that was up for cursing much, but it was still pretty funny. "Nice one, who came up with that?"

"It's been like that forever." Park replied.

"So will you go, please?" Sol gave a pout.

Katie rolled her eyes as she looked at him, tightening her grip on the straps of her backpack as she looked around at all of the students that went by. One kid was drumming his drum sticks on the walls as he went by, others were dancing, some even had large boom boxes over their shoulders and were blaring them as they went down the halls. She smiled.

There was a lot of things that she liked about the school, and maybe watching sports games could be something else.

"Sure." She finally agreed.

* * *

**A/N: Alright, just so you guys know, this story is more of a what happens when the guys go to school kind of thing, so it's going to have a lot of stuff that teenagers go through in this story, and that's one of the things that this chapter was about; going to sports games, as well as being late to class and stuff like that. But don't worry, the drama and everything will pick up **_**really**_** soon. I hope you liked this chapter.**

**Cheers,**

**-Riley**


	13. Chapter 13: Big Time Soccer Game

**~Chapter Thirteen – Big Time Soccer~**

* * *

Carlos woke up that morning to giggling and shushing. He rolled over, burying his head into his pillow, trying to block out the sound.

"I can't, I can't breathe. Oh god. Here Logan, you do it. I can't stop laughing long enough to hold the camera still." Kendall laughed uncontrollably as he gave up the device to his friend.

Taking the Polaroid camera from his hysterical friend's hands, Logan focused it on the image before him. He was shaking with suppressed laughter as well, but his determination to capture that moment forever won through in the end.

The slight click and whirl of the camera, as well as the high pitched, muffled laughter were the sounds which finally woke Carlos from his sleep that morning.

Rubbing his eyes wearily Carlos heard giggling that immediately set off a warning bell in his head. He slowly opened his eyes, spotting a white face with blue and red and yellow, and every other color imaginable staring back into his face. It took him a second to figure out what it was.

A clown.

Carlos let out a loud scream, pushing himself away from the object and onto the floor with a loud thud, pulling his sheets, blankets, and pillows on top of him.

"Ow." Rubbing his side, Carlos through the mass of blankets off him and looked over at the object, bursting out into loud laughter when he saw the Build a Bear dressed up like a clown still sitting on his bed.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" James, Kendall, and Logan shouted in unison seconds before Carlos was met with a face full of confetti and silly string.

"Thanks guys," Carlos smiled at his friends before hitting them with one of his pillows. "Who's the bear from?"

"Patrick and Noah," James replied, grabbing the bear, handing it to him. "They brought it by last night as you slept, hoping to have something like this happen."

"Which explains the camera," Carlos chuckled, getting up off the floor. "You guys suck." He had a bright smile on his face nonetheless.

"You're going to hate us even more as you're not going to get the rest of your presents for a little while," Logan commented, setting the camera down on the table. He walked out of the room only to return seconds later with a hand held vacuum cleaner in it. He stopped when he saw James and Kendall giving him odd looks. "I can't help it. You try living with my mom and not liking everything to be clean."

"Anyway, Carlos, we're meeting up with everybody outside of the Science Center," Kendall said, giving his friend a man-hug. "But first, your mom wanted to wish you a Happy Birthday." He motioned over to the laptop that was sitting on Carlos's nightstand.

'_Is it a Skype call or something_?' he thought as he jumped back onto his bed, sitting Indian style. He started bouncing with excitement, shaking his bed as he moved. James tapped twice on the touch pad and he smiled from ear to ear when he saw the frozen picture of his mom start to move.

Besides being at school making new friends, and being with his friends, Carlos had been home sick, missing his mom and dad a lot. He made a promise to call home at least once a week, and if he couldn't do that to email as often as he could to keep them updated on everything. His parents were really important to him, as was the idea of family, and he didn't want being away from them to suddenly change that.

"That's so cool," Carlos smiled as soon as the video stopped playing. "I've really been missing home, guys."

"We know," James replied, an annoyed look crossing his face. "For the past few days you've been muttering 'Mommy, mommy' in your sleep. Either you've been missing home or you were having that Bunnicula dream again."

"Hey, you'd be freaked out too if you were turned into a vegetable in that dream and he was after you," Carlos pointed out, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Come on, you turds, or we're going to be late for our first class," Kendall commented with an eye roll. "And Carlos you're going to freak once you see what's waiting for you at lunch."

"Oooh, what is it, what is it?" Carlos asked, his excitement immediately returning.

"You won't find out if you don't hurry up," Logan replied in a sing song voice, making his way out of the room. "Plus, I don't want to be late for English."

"I'm sure Riley and Rhuben could last five minutes without having you permanently glued to their sides," Kendall commented with a little laugh. Logan turned around and smirked at Kendall.

"Last time I checked, James wanted to be a famous pop star," Logan replied, waving his arms in the air. "And if my memory serves correctly, in this English class we eventually get into song writing, _which_ would really benefit our band in the long run and-"

"Bye," James put his hand over Logan's face, pushing him out of the room as Kendall followed, laughing hysterically.

Classes flew by for them and everywhere he went, people were wishing Carlos a happy birthday. Even people he didn't know, but that was due in part for the large crown he was wearing on his head. He had made it himself during one of his art classes when he was finished with his project.

To him, having it be your birthday meant that everyone should give him attention. This quickly got on his friends' nerves, but they had gone through it every year, not to mention it was the same type of thing with their annual Prank War as well.

But the kicker was when he found out about Riley's gift to him. He scared everybody when he let out a loud scream once he found out the Bounce House was for him. He also would barely ever leave her side, constantly giving her hugs and thanking her over and over again. Only when she yelled at him to "Shut up and get your ass on the bounce house" did he finally leave her alone.

"This is the coolest thing anyone's done for his birthday," Logan said as he licked his ice cream cone. "Thanks for doing this for him. I mean, you barely know him, but you still did this for him."

"Like I said, birthdays are a big deal around here," Riley replied, stealing his ice cream cone from him and taking a lick from it. She leaned away from him as he tried to get it back. "Just wait till you see what I have planned for your birthday and Dak's as well."

"When is-"

"September 18th," Riley replied. "Yeah I know." She spotted the look on Logan's face. "I swear, the more people I meet, the closer their birthday is to ours. But, don't worry, Rhubes and I have agreed that we'll still keep our birthday tradition."

"Hmm, we all go out and do something together, and you guys pretty much get me to blow my money on whatever you want," Logan commented with a smirk.

"Exactly," Riley replied before quickly attacking Logan's rapidly melting ice cream cone. "We really missed you Logan."

"I missed you guys too," Logan replied with a smile. "But I _didn't _miss you stealing my food all the time."

* * *

"Hey guys," Sydney greeted Dak and WayneWayne with a smile as the group of friends made their way over to the bleachers. He wrapped his arms around Dak in a tight hug before doing the same to WayneWayne. WayneWayne blinked in surprise, his arms at his sides, before slowly reaching up to give the small boy a hug in return. "How were your classes?"

"Like I paid any attention in them," Dak rolled his eyes, snorting. "I've been too hyped up about this game. The day just dragged on and on. So, how's your birthday been, man?"

"Great," Carlos replied after he pulled the lollipop from his mouth. "Dude, I never realized how much candy this school gives out! It's like Halloween, just for me!"

"Why do you think there's a dentist on campus?" Camille asked, rolling her eyes as they all took seats on the metal. "They give out candy for practically every occasion you can think of."

"And I'm happy to say I've never gotten a cavity!" Riley said with a proud smile.

"With how much you eat those orange slices, I'm surprised you don't bleed orange blood, Beautiful," James commented with a laugh. "What, are you addicted to them? You practically tore off Carlos's arm when he said he didn't want them." Riley just shrugged in reply.

"She's not as addicted to them as Rhuben is to peanut butter cups," Stephanie said with an eye roll. "I swear, she'd do anything to have one."

"I remember when you were addicted to ring pops," Logan commented with a laugh, putting his arm around Riley's shoulders. "You should've seen it. I couldn't believe that they never had a ring pop until they were nine. According to them, they don't have them in Australia."

"You know the only reason they hung out with you back then was because you had ring pops," Sydney said with a cheeky smile. Logan rolled his eyes as everyone started laughing.

"Come on, Steph, I wouldn't do _anything_ for a peanut butter cup," Rhuben said to her friend, giving her an annoyed look. Stephanie smiled impishly in return, pulling her hair away from her mouth.

"What about last year at that sleepover we were having and you said that you would even walk up to Dak and-"

"I get it!" Rhuben practically shouted, slapping her hand over Stephanie's mouth as Dak looked at the two girls, curious as to what they were talking about. He gave a smug smile as soon as he saw Rhuben scratch at her forehead, trying to hide her blush.

"Where's Patrick and Noah?" Jo asked, immediately changing the subject.

"He's changing into the uniform with the rest of the guys," Sydney replied around a mouthful of hot dog. He was sitting a row below everybody, kicking his legs back and forth, wearing an old school jersey that (most likely) shrunk in the wash. He had a hat backwards on his head and the school colors (navy blue and white) on his cheeks in rectangles, blue on the right and white on the left. "He'll be out in few minutes."

"Speaking of which," Rhuben said turning to Dak who was talking with WayneWayne. He immediately gave her his full attention. "Shouldn't you go change too?"

"Trying to get rid of me already, Bella?" Dak asked with a laugh and a smug smile.

"Just wondering…" Rhuben muttered. '_Smart ass_.'

"I'm waiting for my sister to get here," Dak replied looking away from her and over at everybody else. "Her name's Lizzie. She's excited to meet you all."

"I didn't know you had a sister," Katie said, raising her eyebrows. She then crossed her arms over her chest. "You could've mentioned that in your interviews or something."

"I didn't realize you kept such a close eye on stuff like that," Dak blinked in surprise as a warm smile crossed his face. Katie scoffed, shaking her head, denying the claim although the blush on her cheeks gave her away. "Anyway, I like to try and keep my private life, private, including anything about my family. Lizzie hates it whenever she's put in gossip magazines and everything."

"I know the feeling," Rhuben stated, chewing on a piece of gum.

"Girl, at least it's all good things," Camille laughed, patting her friend on the shoulder. "Hey, I'd rather have everyone spreading rumors about hooking up with a hot guy than anything else they could think of."

"She's got a point," Riley nudged her sister with her shoulder as she offered Sydney a piece of gum. He happily took it before he started gnawing on it, making smacking noises with his mouth. "Just be thankful that we've only had harmless rumors spread about us." She then turned towards James. "if you ever become famous, you're going to have to get used to that as well."

"No problem, Beautiful," James replied, leaning back and locking his hands behind his head. WayneWayne looked over at him, eyebrows raised in a curious look. "If I'm doing what I love, there's nothing that anyone could say to bring me down."

"Hold onto that thought for as long as you can, James," Patrick announced his presence as he, Noah, Park, and Sol walked up the bleachers, making clacking noises on the metal with their cleats.

"She has a name you know," WayneWayne commented, tilting his head towards Riley.

"I know," James replied simply, an edge to his tone, leaning forward in his seat, raising his sunglasses up off his nose, locking eyes with WayneWayne. "Not that it's any of your business what I call her." Riley looked over at Dak giving him an 'This is all your fault' look to which he just shrugged.

"I'm just saying, it's not that hard to tell them apart," WayneWayne used his thumb to point first at Riley then at Rhuben. Logan snorted.

"Considering you're never around Rhuben, yeah I figured it'd be easier for you," he stated. Kendall laughed a little bit, clapping his friend on the back.

"It really doesn't matter," Camille spoke up for her friend, trying to wedge peace into the rising tension. "Riles goes by a lot of nicknames." Riley silently nodded in agreement. Camille then turned towards James. "You know her name, right? It's just a nickname."

"Exactly," James replied, never taking his eyes off WayneWayne,

Logan burst out into loud laughter knowing well enough that James could barely tell the two girls apart. Logan quickly turned his laughter into a coughing fit. James continued on as if Logan hadn't done anything. Riley sat uncomfortably between the two of them, looking back and forth at each guy that was talking.

"Like I'm sure, WayneWayne is just a nickname for him. A pretty lousy one at that."

"Come on guys, stop fighting," Carlos practically whined reaching out a fist to punch James on the shoulder. "We should be happy. It's my birthday."

"Anyway," Patrick stressed out the word, changing the subject. Riley gave him a smile of thanks which he returned with a wink. "Hey guys, thanks for coming."

"Wouldn't miss it, buddy," Jo smiled at Patrick, slapping him a high five. "Just make sure you win. It'll make Carlos's birthday that much better."

"No pressure," Park scoffed, rolling his eyes before giving Katie a warm smile. "Thanks for coming, Katie. It means a lot, even if sports aren't really your thing."

"No problem," she replied, shrugging. "I had nothing better to do, Kendall was coming anyway and—" An evil grin crossed her face as she rubbed her hands together, looking at the groups of people headed towards the soccer field, talking excitedly to each other. "I bet I can make a _killing_ on this game. I wonder if people here are the gambling type?"

"Katie," Kendall said her name in a warning tone. Then a thoughtful look crossed his face. "Anything you get we split in half, but if you get in trouble for it, I don't know you."

"Deal," Katie replied simply, shaking his hand.

Noah crossed his arms over his chest, an amused look on his face, his eyes darting around from person to person. He then stood up on the bleachers and stuck two fingers in his mouth letting out a loud, shrill, whistle. A few seconds later, another whistle was heard back.

"That's Lizzie," Dak explained and shrugged when everybody gave him a confused look. "That's how they find each other in big crowds and stuff." Seconds later, he let out a strangled sound as a girl threw her arms around his neck, hugging him from behind. "Lessen the grip, Lizzie, I still gotta play the game."

"Sorry, Dak," a brunette, with blond streaks in her hair, apologized as she stepped out from behind the group.

Katie slid her sunglasses over her face to look the girl up and down without being obvious about it. She had her brown hair in pig tails, bangs framing her forehead. She had on a sleeveless pink flannel shirt on over a black shirt with a black belt, a blue and white pleated skirt that stopped at her knees, gray leggins, and pink shoes. She could see gold hoop earrings hanging from her ears as well. Katie frowned as Patrick, Noah, Park, Sol, and Sydney immediately moved over to where she was.

"How're ya doing, kid?" Dak asked, standing up to give her a proper hug. "How was school today?"

"Boring," Lizzie rolled her eyes before giving the group of boys a hug. "Couldn't wait to get over here and watch my brother and friends in action."

"Thanks for coming, girl," Park grinned after he let her go.

"Lizzie, this is Kendall, Carlos, James, and Logan, new students at CABS this year," Sydney introduced Lizzie to the boys, who waved a hand in greeting, as he took her hand, smiling widely as he swung it back and forth. "And that's WayneWayne, Dak's friend."

"Sup?" WayneWayne asked, giving a small head nod.

"And that's Katie, Kendall's younger sister," Sydney finished the introduction, motioning to Katie, who gave a small smile that quickly faded. "You remember, my sisters, and Joey, Cammie, and Stephie."

"Hey guys," Lizzie smiled as Sydney pulled her up the bleachers to take a seat by her. "It's nice to meet you all. Katie, I love your outfit." Katie looked down at her converse shoes, faded blue jeans, purple t-shirt, and purple and white striped scarf that hung around her neck.

"Thanks," she replied shortly. '_Not as great as your outfit though_.'

"You should've seen it," Sydney said with his eyes shining brightly. "Today is Carlos's birthday and Riley was able to rent him a Bounce House for the day. It was so much fun! You would've loved it." Lizzie let out a groan, sad she had to miss something like that. "Oh, and Patrick and Noah cot him this cool Build a Bear."

"Looks like someone has a crush," Jo said in a sing-song voice into Riley's ear.

"Lizzie used to babysit him all the time last year, I'm not really all that surprised," Riley replied with a grin, brushing her hair back behind her shoulders. "She's just about Patrick and Noah's age, but she pays a lot of attention to him. He hates feeling left out, y'know?"

"Yeah," Rhuben added as Dak left the group to go change into his uniform. "And she's been obsessed with dancing-"

"And her," Riley interrupted her sister.

"Ever since I gave a dance seminar at her school two years ago," Rhuben continued as if Riley hadn't said anything. "So she tries to see us as much as possible. To get tips and all that, and just to hang out. She, Patrick, and Noah are pretty tight."

"Whoever knew you were such a helpful person," Logan said with a smile as he nudged Rhuben in the back with his shoe. "You used to hate doing stuff like that all the time."

"That's because we hated it when we had all the attention on us," Riley replied, rubbing at the back of her neck. "I still hate it now, sometimes."

"But you're a performer," Kendall slowly replied, trying to understand what she said. "I believe it comes with the territory."

"That's true," Riley replied, rolling her shoulders, an uncomfortable look on her face. "But it gets weird sometimes, especially with psycho fans that want to know everything about everything about you and your life."

James frowned as he looked over at the two girls. '_They don't seem to happy about it. Now that I think about it, they never seem all that happy when they talk about their career_.'

"I know exactly how you feel," WayneWayne suddenly commented, jumping into the conversation, making James and Kendall roll their eyes.

"I'm sure you do," Riley shot back, arms crossed over her chest.

"What's that supposed to mean?" WayneWayne asked, arching an eyebrow. Riley arched one back, a smirk sliding onto her face.

"Nothing," she replied with a shrug before glancing over at her brothers. "I think you need to get on the field now."

"Oh, she's right," Sol commented after glancing at the soccer field. He spotted his team starting to line up at the penalty kick line, taking shots on the goalie. "We've gotta warm up." He brushed his hair out of his face. "Wish us luck."

"Luck," Stephanie immediately replied, lifting her camera, to take a picture of the four boys. They put their arms around each other and smiled brightly for her. She gave a short nod after looking at the result, lowering her camera before grabbing her camcorder. "I'm going to get it all on tape, don't worry."

"Thanks, Steph," Patrick smiled as he reached towards his ear to pull out his earring. "Someone hold this for me? I forgot to take it out earlier."

"I got it," Katie offered, learning forward, holding out her palm. "I'll keep it in my pocket."

"Thanks, Kates," Patrick grinned as he placed the silver object into her hand. "Make sure it doesn't bend." She waved her hand in the air, showing that she heard him as she slid his earring into her front jeans pocket. "Oh!"

He turned on his heel facing her again. She leaned forward, wondering what he had to say, and blinked, blushing in embarrassment when he leaned past her, motioning for Lizzie to lean forward. He cupped his hand around her ear and whispered rapidly before leaning back.

"No problem," Lizzie replied, giving him a double thumbs up. Patrick smiled before jumping off the bleachers, hurrying after his brother and his friends. Dak came out of the changing area and waved at the group before heading onto the field with everyone else. "You know he likes you." Lizzie smiled at Rhuben, slapping her knee.

"I think everyone in the entire universe could figure that one out by now," Carlos commented, wiping his hands on his jeans before reaching for his cup of lemonade. "He doesn't even bother trying to hide it."

"But why do guys feel like they have to hide whoever they're crushing on?" Lizzie asked, turning to face him. "Do you think any of the girls here at CABS is cute?"

"Are you including or excluding the Jennifers?" Stephanie asked dryly after spotting the dreamy look on Carlos's face. She made a face when he let out a sigh. "I'm guessing he's including them."

"So, you should tell them," Lizzie shrugged. "It saves from having to go through the trouble of trying to figure out whether or not that person likes you back, having to use mind games and everything."

"Hey, we're guys," WayneWayne pointed out, puffing out his chest. "We're jerks. We use mind games to save face." Kendall, James, Logan, and Carlos made noises, having to agree with what he had just said.

"But do you like my brother?" Lizzie asked, turning to Rhuben, widening her green eyes. It was obvious by the look on Rhuben's face that the sudden change of subject caught her off guard. "I think you'd make a great couple and he _really, really _likes you."

"He's not my type," Rhuben replied, scratching at her forehead, trying to hide the blush of embarrassment on her cheeks.

"What is your type?" Logan suddenly asked, earning a harsh look from her. "What? I've always wanted to know. You don't know how long I've waited or you cootie routine to get old."

"Guys, they're about to start," Katie suddenly called out, getting tired about the conversation.

She glanced over at Lizzie as she turned around in her seat, facing the field, clapping. She didn't know what her impression of Lizzie was, but sitting next to her annoyed her. Everyone seemed to like her but there was something about her (and the way Patrick, Noah, park, and Sol were acting around her, not that she'd ever admit that) bothered her. She couldn't put her finger on what it was though.

Down on the soccer field, the boys team was sitting in a circle, stretching their legs, moments before the game started.

"This game has a bigger turn out than I thought there'd be," Park commented, staring up at the sky as he, and the rest of the team, stretched out a leg, bending it up at the side beside them. "I mean, I knew there'd be a lot of people, just not this much."

"Just as long as the Bitches supports don't do anything like last time," Noah commented, his hands locked behind his head. "I heard that if another fight breaks out, they'll be banned from the field." He then turned towards Dak. "As would our captain."

"Hey!" Dak protested, sitting up to look at the younger boy. "That guy hooked me, alright?" He frowned, brushing his hair from his face. "Besides, he started it."

"Need I remind you, that your current love interest, my sister, can take care of herself," Patrick said, a frown also on his face. "I don't care how much you like her, or how well I know you, but I'll go all overprotective brother on you if I have to."

"Mhm," Noah nodded in agreement as Park and Sol burst out laughing. Dak's lips twitched into a msile.

"I could say the same for you and _my_ sister," he replied, looking at the four boys. "Not sure which exactly out of the four of you like her, but I'll grill you like a shish kabob before you even try anything." Patrick smiled, sticking his tongue out between his teeth as he did so.

"So, what's up with WayneWayne?" Park asked, moving to stretch his other leg. "He looked like was going to rip out James's throat."

Dak let out a heavy sigh. "It's not my place to say, but he's being passive aggressive to everybody," he replied. "He's really a great guy and I think he'll be a great friend once people see past his attitude. Just give him a chance. Trust me."

"All in all, I think Riley has finally met her match when it comes to her quick temper," Sol said, cracking his lopsided grin. "I still think it's weird that all he had to do was say 'Please' and she gave him back his sunglasses. I mean, there are _plenty _of things that she took from me and all I got was a butt kicking even when I asked please."

"That's because the stuff she took from you, you stole from her to begin with," Patrick replied, hitting him on the arm. "Like, her skateboard, her wrist guard, I could go on."

"Please don't," Sol commented. "And I borrowed those."

Dak clapped his hands twice, getting everyone's attention. Everyone on the team immediately clapped twice back as he sat up. He tucked his left leg into his crotch area before leaning forward and to the right, reaching for his foot, stretching his right leg.

"Alright guys, try not to get nervous," Dak, captain of the team, coached everybody as he moved to stretch his right leg. "We have a great turn out, we've been practicing hard, and we didn't lose a lot of players last year so our team is better than ever."

"Wooh! We're going to beat those Bitches down to the ground," Patrick cheered, punching the air with his fists before bumping fists with Sol. "They're going to wish they never showed their faces."

"Hoo rah!" the rest of the team agreed with a loud shout.

"We're going to bring the school to the DAC Championships," a boy named Chase added.

"Hoo rah!"

"And this year, we're going to win!" Dak added getting to his feet, putting out his hand. Everyone else followed suit, stacking their hands on top of his. "Hoo rah, on three. 1! 2! 3!"

"HOO RAH!" the team yelled, throwing their hands up into the air. Eleven people on the team stayed on the field taking their placements as everyone else went to sit on the bench by the coach, waiting for their turn to be put in.

Park and Sol started the team in a few minutes of carless screams and shouts as the crowd cheered for their respective teams. The supporters for the other team booed them as did the CABS supporters when the LABS team came out doing the same thing.

When the game began the whole crowd went crazy! There were colored pom-poms waving in the air, some people started calling out cheers, and more than once the wave was initiated as well.

Park stole the ball almost immediately after the game started and dribbled it halfway to the goal. Some guy from the other team stole it when he tried to pass it to Paatrick. That guy dribbled it almost all the way to the center circle but all of a sudden someone swished past him and dibbled it back past Park and kicked it into the goal.

Everyone, even the teams, went quiet as we all watched, amazed before Dak jumped into the air, punching his fists up, cheering loudly.

"Whoa…" Katie was the first to find her voice as everybody on the CABS team patted Dak on the back, congratulating him.

"Nice one, Dak!" Lizzie shouted, clapping her hands hard together. "Woohoo! Way to go, bro!" She nudged Katie in the side, smiling. "That was awesome, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, he's really good," Katie replied with a nod.

"I didn't know he could do that," Kendall commented, finally closing his mouth.

"That was _definitely_ not in any interviews he's done," Carlos added, gaining odd looks from everybody. "Not that I read them or anything."

The referee finally blew his whistle, signaling the players to get back to the game. This time Noah started out with the ball, who dribbled around a LABS player before passing it over to Patrick, his foot making a loud popping sound as it connected with the ball. Patrick grunted as he bounced the ball off his chest, dropping it to his feet. A LABS player was immediately at his side, knocking into him, trying to kick the ball away, but Patrick kept his arm out to the side, making it impossible to lose the ball.

"Pat, pass it!" Sol yelled, running as fast as he could, hand up in the air, down the middle of the field and straight for the goal. Patrick swung his foot, kicking the ball into an arc. Sol jumped into the air, aiming to head the ball into the goal, but he collided in mid air with a LABS player, missing the ball as it flew out of the field.

By halftime, the score was already 2-1 and all the exhausted players went back into the locker rooms. A minute after they disappeared into the rooms, Jo squealed, "Oh my god! I can't believe Dak is _so_ good! I mean I knew he was good but that was _amazing!_"

"Joey?" Sydney asked, a confused look on his face, although he was smiling a little bit.

"A girl's aloud to have at least _one _fan girl moment a day when it comes to being friends with celebrities," Jo said putting her hands up in defense. "Remember, it's part of the contract I agreed to."

"Yeah, I think we should've changed it to a big, fat, zero," Sydney commented with a teasing smile, causing everyone to start laughing.

"He _is_ really good…" Rhuben admitted. She had a look on her face as if she was offered cough medicine to drink.

"You've never seen him play before?" WayneWayne asked, a confused look on his face. Rhuben shook her head, resting her elbows on her knees as she leaned forward to give him her full attention.

"We were busier last year with music stuff that we barely saw a game that season," she explained.

"Hey I'm gonna get some snacks," Lizzie suddenly spoke up. She nudged Katie in the side, smiling at her. "Wanna come?"

"Why not?" Katie asked, shrugging. She couldn't think of an excuse not to. And then when she wanted to think of an excuse, she had an inner battle with herself, wondering why she would make an excuse in the first place. "It's this way, I think."

She pointed to the group of people moving towards the concession stand. "They have good hot dogs," Sydney said to the two girls. "Sometimes they have cotton candy too." He then turned towards Riley, holding out his small hand. "Ri-Ri, can I have some money for a pretzel?"

"Sorry kiddo, but you used the last of my allowance," Riley replied, running her fingers through his hair when he pouted.

"Here you go," Kendall said as he pulled his wallet out of his pocket. He pulled it open, pulling out some bills, handing it to Katie. "Make sure you actually get him a pretzel instead of using it all on Peanut Butter Cups."

"Thank you," Sydney smiled his dimpled smile at Kendall as he sat back down.

"No problem," Kendall gave the small boy a wink before turning and giving Katie a warning look.

"I got it, chillax, dude," Katie replied, before starting off towards the concession stand. "Geeze, have a little faith, bro."

"You guys seem close," Lizzie commented. Katie shrugged as she pulled her wallet out of her back pocket. "Hey, is that a Kingdom Hearts, wallet?"

"Yeah, Kendall got it for me for Christmas last year," Katie replied, waving her wallet in the air. "It's a great game if you're into that kind of stuff."

"Yeah, I love video games," Lizzie replied, brushing her braids behind her shoulders. She then peered over at Katie. "What? You think 'cause I'm dressed like this and pretty perky you think that I wouldn't like video games?"

"You just seem like…the cheerleader type," Katie replied, giving Lizzie an apologetic look.

"Well, I _used_ to be a cheerleader, and I help around at cheer camp every now and then, and, yes, I love to shop and do my toe nails and talk about guys," Lizzie replied. "But, I also love playing sports, and video games, and hanging out with my brother and stuff."

"And hanging out with Patrick and Noah," Katie added, trying to hide the bitter tone that was seeping into her voice.

"Oh, yeah," Lizzie waved her hand in the air. "I met them when I was babysitting Sydney once. They're pretty cool. They gave me a tour of the school and introduced me to Park and Sol, bringing me into their group, y'know?"

"Do you…like any of them?" Katie asked as they got into the line at the concession stand. "Not that I care or anything. I barely know them. I'm just curious." '_Quit babbling, Katie_!'

Lizzie shrugged before laughing a little bit. "I've been trying to get Dak and Rhuben together for so long, I haven't really thought about it," she admitted.

Katie laughed a little bit, a smile coming to her face. '_Good_.'

By the time they got back to their seats the 2nd quarter bell had just rung. The crowd started cheering as the teams came out of the locker room to start the second half of the game. Some people were chanting the last names of the key players that were keeping the teams working hard.

Park started out with the ball and passed it to his teammate. Again, someone from the other team stole the ball and dibbled it all the way to the goal, tension building and building. The tension disappeared when he kicked the ball in but the goalie caught it immediately. The other team's crowd groaned as the CABS started cheering.

Dak got the ball as soon as the goalie returned it and he raced towards the goal. Suddenly he passed it to Sol, who looked a little surprised but wasted no time before kicking it in. Everyone cheered again, as he and Patrick jumped into the air, chest bumping each other.

No one scored anymore goals and the final score was 3-1 much to CABS' delight. As soon as the game was over, the supporters rushed the field, making a tunnel for the players to run through in victory. Everyone sat waiting on the bleachers for their friends to come out of the locker room to congratulate them.

"That was a nice bicycle kick, Pat," Riley said, giving Patrick a tight hug before kissing Noah on the forehead. He blushed in embarrassment but smiled good naturedly. Sydney was hovering around the two of them talking excitedly, giving them a play by play of their favorite parts. Noah crouched down on the ground and lifted Sydney on the back to give him a piggy back ride. "Too bad it didn't go in."

"Tell me about it," Patrick replied with a frown, although his eyes glowed with excitement over the win. "I think I tweaked my shoulder though. We'll find out tomorrow. Did dad make it?"

"No, he had a last minute faculty meeting to get to," Sydney replied, waving his phone in the air, using one arm around Noah's neck to keep himself up as he slid it back into his pocket. "He apologizes."

"Oh," Patrick frowned, looking upset before he shrugged. "Well, that's work I guess. Steph, did you get it all on tape? Could you make a copy for him?"

"Don't worry about it," Stephanie replied, giving him a smile before it wavered a little bit. "I missed a little bit of the first few minutes of the second half because I had to change my batteries." Patrick gave another shrug, showing that it didn't bother him.

"Great job, DZ," Rhuben said, walking up to Dak, her arms crossed over her chest. "You really _are_ good!"

He laughed and replied, "Thanks Bella…that means a lot coming from you!"

"I'm sure it does," Camille commented before making a face as Rhuben stepped hard onto her foot. "Just give her a hug, ya bastard." Dak laughed again before opening his arms for a hug. Rhuben looked like she was going to move for a moment before stepping forward into his arms, giving him a brief hug.

"What's the matter?" Camille asked, spotting the weird look on Logan's face.

"Nothing," Logan replied, offering a smile.

Camille sighed, jutting out her hip. "Your aura doesn't look happy," she commented, waving her hands in the air space above his head, causing Logan to give her a weird. "Lay it on me. I'm good with giving advice."

"It's nothing," Logan repeated, shrugging. "It's just…for as long as I've known her—" Logan trailed off, looking embarrassed. "She hated being called Bella. I mean, she only allowed me to do so. It's just a little weird for me to hear, I guess."

"Oh," Camille nodded, understanding the point he was getting at. "Logan, you have nothing to worry about, she hasn't replaced you as friend." She then smiled at him. "In fact, ever since you arrived here, Riles and Rhubes hasn't stopped talking about you and all the things you got into when you were kids."

"Really?" Logan's eyes widened as a smile worked it's way onto his face.

"Yes, really," Camille chuckled at his reaction. "Like I said, you have nothing to worry about."

"Thanks Camille," Logan gave her a peaceful smile.

"You're welcome," Camille replied, smiling back at him, tucking her hair behind her ear. "But, we better get going to Carlos's party. Someone might kick us out of the area. It wouldn't be the first time that's happened."

* * *

Carlos was practically bouncing off the walls as soon as he got to his party. He was thankful for everyone taking the time to throw him a party for his first birthday away from home. Even being surrounded by his friends, and having a great time at the soccer game, getting to know everybody a little more, he still missed home as turning 17 was a big stepping stone in life, and it was the first time he had to celebrate his birthday without his parents.

Everybody was dancing and having a good time, hanging out with each other. A lot of people would drop by and hang out, even if they didn't know Carlos, but just wanted a place for a party. Carlos was having such a great time hanging out with his friends that he didn't even care, and it was a great way for everybody to meet new people.

They had a little pool tournament going on as well. Even Ronan had stopped by for a few minutes to ask about the game and to give Carlos a gift, a hockey calendar. This prompted everyone to start passing out gifts that they got for him. From Kendall he got a new hockey stick, from James he got Cuda hair spray (partly as a gag gift and to help him with his helmet hair), and Logan got him a DVD of the NHL's greatest fights.

Stephanie, Camille, Jo, Riley, and Rhuben pitched in and got him an Anaheim Mighty Ducks jersey (after an extensive conversation of the Disney movie), Patrick, Noah, and Sydney got him a few shirts and pants (explaining that someone in the group had to give him something he most likely didn't really want) and Dak and WayneWayne got him a customized Minnesota Wild jersey with his name on the back.

"Thanks guys, this is really one of the best birthdays I've had," Carlos smiled at everybody.

"Birthdays are a big deal here," Riley explained as she chewed her piece of cake. "And I can give you the number to the Bounce House place if you want it." She laughed as Carlos nodded eagerly.

"This was a great idea," Kendall smiled as he dropped into a seat at one of the table, breathing heavily as he had just finished dancing with Katie. "I'm having so much fun. This school is pretty awesome."

"You haven't experience Homecoming or Spirit Week or anything," Jo shook her head, her blond locks, hitting her in the face. "You can't really say that yet."

"Well, I can say that the people here are awesome," Kendall replied, giving her a warm smile. Jo smiled back before it suddenly disappeared. "What? That line wasn't _that_ _bad_ was it?"

"Mmm, it ranks up there," Carlos commented, waving his hand in the air.

"No, it wasn't that," Jo replied, motioning over Kendall's shoulder. "_Them_."

Kendall turned around in his seat and frowned when he saw a bunch of the soccer players from the LABS team coming into the Student Union. Slowly everyone else noticed the group that was coming in. Riley immediately made her way over to the head boy.

"This is a private party, beat it, Ace," she snapped, arms crossed over her chest. "No Bitches aloud."

"Must've missed that on the invitation," Ace replied with a smirk. "We heard it was someone's birthday and decided to drop by and congratulate the birthday boy." He looked around the room. "Say 'hi' to some people, congratulate your boys on the win."

"Get out of here, Ace, no one wants your false happiness," Dak commented, stepping up behind Riley, glaring fiercely at the boy. "Take your friends and leave."

"Come on, dude, I'm just kidding," Ace put his hand on Dak's shoulder and he roughly pushed it off. "We're here to congratulate you guys and livin' up this party a little bit. Seriously." He glanced over at Riley, smiling suggestively before wrapping an arm around her waist, pulling her flush against his body. "Wanna dance, sweet thang?"

"Keep your hands off her, creep," WayneWayne said, walking over to the small group as Riley made a face, pushing Ace away from her. Riley merely glanced over at him but didn't say anything. "What do you want?"

"Just for you to have a good time," Ace replied with a shrug.

"And how do you propose you do that?" Dak asked coolly. Ace stared back at him, smirking before unzipping his soccer bag, revealing the label to a case of Coors Light. He pulled out a can, holding it out to him. Some of his friends behind him started laughing. "Get that crap out of here."

"You guys need to chill," Ace chuckled, popping the can before taking a sip from it. "All you Cab Drivers constantly have sticks up your asses, I swear." He chuckled a little glancing around the room once again. "You may have won this game, but you won't win again."

"We'll just see about that," Dak replied, a muscle in his jaw, twitching. Ace's eyebrow twitched before he slowly turned and motioned for his friends to leave the room. Dak placed a hand on Riley's shoulder, frowning as she flinched. "You ok?" She nodded. "Sorry about that, Carlos."

"Man, those guys are such jerks," Camille commented, setting down her pool cue. "They don't know how to handle a loss."

"They never have," Stephanie added, a disgusted look on her face.

"I've never seen him so mad before," Lizzie whispered to Katie as everyone slowly started doing what they were doing before the interruption. She, Katie, Sydney, and Rhuben were playing a game of poker in the corner.

"I can tell you why," Rhuben commented as she pulled her eyes away from Dak and back to her cards. "Ace is an ex-boyfriend of mine."

"You dated a jerk like _that_?" Katie's eyes popped open. "_Why_?"

"I ask myself that every time I see him," Rhuben frowned, setting down her cards. "He was nice at first, then…something happened and he's been this way ever since. He can go fuck himself for all I care." Sydney let out a loud gasp, frowning, before putting out his hand. "Sorry, two dollars I know. I'll pay you later."

"You know," Lizzie said loudly, arranging and rearranging her cards. "Dak isn't like that."

"I know," Rhuben nodded, putting her attention on her cards again. "That's something I really like about him."

* * *

**I don't know when Curt Hansen's (who plays Dak Zevon) birthday is. I know there's a chess player with the same name who has September 18th as his birthday, so I just used that for this.**

**Anyway, here's a chapter with a little bit of everybody and one of the longer ones I've done. And I wanted to start bringing in teenage problems into this story which is why I had Ace come in with some beer. Hope you liked this chapter. What would you guys like to see in this? Oh, and you'll be seeing more of Ronan soon too.**

**Cheers,**

**-Rhubes**


	14. Chapter 14: Big Time Worry

**.:Chapter Fourteen – Big Time Worry:.**

* * *

Kacy Knight was worried.

She was pacing the room, biting her nails, and constantly looking at the clock, calculating in her hand how much time difference there was in California to Minnesota. After she looked at the clock and calculated that it was before 8:00 in the morning there, as it was a little before 6:00 in Minnesota, and knowing that they had homeroom at 8:10, she started to dial her cell phone for Kendall's number. When he didn't answer, she dialed Katie's.

When there was no answer form both of them, she was forced into full-blown hysteria. Now, she wouldn't be worrying if it wasn't their first year at a boarding school in California. Usually if Kendall wouldn't answer, it would be because he was out playing hockey with some friends and for Katie it would be because she was out at a friend's house and lost track of time. But this was different. She made them both promise to call her once every day and now they haven't called and she was starting to freak out. Well, there was really only one thing that she could do.

If she couldn't handle them being over in California by themselves, then she was just going to have to go out and go to California herself. Or maybe it was a crazy idea and the fact that she had gotten up very early was making her tired. But she couldn't help it, she had been waking up that early ever since Kendal land Katie had left and it was probably due to the fact that the house was so quiet that any sound, even the sound of her house settling, woke her up and she was usually a very heavy sleeper. Even her time working at the restaurant as a waitress was starting to take its toll on her. On more than one occasion she was reprimanded for stopping what she was doing and staring out into space thinking about Kendall and Katie. They were her only son and daughter and she had taken care of them by herself for so long that it was weird to not have them in her house at all. It just disturbed the normal routine that she had and although she wasn't OCD about it, she didn't like it when her routine was changed, not even in the slightest bit.

Kacy was startled out of her reverie as the phone began to ring. Picking up the phone as she went past it; Kacy went over to her laptop and started to book the next flight out to California. It was a leap of judgment, but she knew what she had to do. "Hello?" she asked as answered the phone.

"Kacy, it's Joanna, I was wondering if you wanted to go and get lunch?" Carlos' mother, Mrs. Garcia spoke into the phone cheerfully. If she wasn't such a good friend to Kacy, she would have probably been irritated by her cheerful tone as she was freaking out about her kids and their lack of phone calls.

"Sorry, I can't," Kacy replied, deciding that going with the truth would be a better idea. "I need to start packing."

"Packing?" Joanna sounded confused. "Where are you going? Don't you have work at the restaurant later tonight?"

"Yes, but I need to call them and tell them that I'm leaving that job because I have to go out to California, and I need to put up a notice that I'm renting out my house, and I have so much to do." Kacy replied as she continued to type on her laptop, starting to panic as each second passed.

"Kacy, calm down, what are you talking about?" Joanna pleaded, now sounded even more confused. It didn't make sense, Kacy was the one that seemed the most together, especially since she had to take care of Kendall and Katie all by herself when her husband had left her. And now, here she was giving the strange idea that she was going to sell her house and move out to California. "Is this about Kendall and Katie?"

"_Yes_!" Kacy didn't mean to snap, but she was wasting a lot of time. "I gave them specific directions for them to call me while they were gone in California and they haven't done that and I can't help but worry."

"Yes, I know that you can't help that, because you're raising your kids alone." Joanna said soothingly, trying to calm her down. "How about this, how about Sylvia, Brooke, you, and me have lunch and we can talk about what you plan on doing. We don't want you to jump at ideas that you might not like later."

"Joanna-"

"Please, Kacy, we just want to talk to you."

"Alright," Kacy finally agreed, closing the lid of her laptop and leaning back in her seat, sighing as she ran her free hand over her face. "Fine. We'll meet up for lunch and talk, but I'm telling you now that I'm probably not going to change my mind."

"I understand that, but hear us out," Joanna replied, and it sounded to Kacy, even though she couldn't see her, that she would be nodding in agreement. "How about we meet up at The Otter House later today and we can all talk it over."

"Alright," Kacy continued to hold her hand over her face. "Goodbye." She hung up the phone and tossed it aside as she moved her fingers to her temples, where they started to pound with the oncoming headache.

Missing your kids this much couldn't be healthy.

* * *

"Check this out!" James declared as he slapped something down onto the table that Riley and Stephanie were sitting at in homeroom.

Riley raised her eyebrows before picking it up and looking at them. "Headshots?" she questioned, her eyebrows rising further. Stephanie leaned over her shoulder to look at the pictures as Carlos hopped onto their desk as well, to take a look.

"James, you really got to stop taking these things." Carlos commented as he looked at them himself, before messing with his helmet in his hands, dismissing them. Ever since he knew that he wanted to be famous, all James did was take picture after picture to make head-shots to prove that he could be whatever any casting director wanted.

"Why?" James snorted. "These are what you need to be discovered and-"

"And that's why you need to choose one and go with it." WayneWayne commented as he walked over to the four of them, dropping his backpack to the ground carelessly, tossing a look over his shoulder to see if Miss. Gordon was paying attention. He snorted when he saw the headshots. "Fireman and Police Officer?"

"What's the problem with that?" James asked, starting to feel a little defensive.

"Nothing, other than the fact that he's right," Riley commented as she put the pictures back down. "If you want to break into the business, just get a headshot" she did the vogue motions around her head. "And put your resume on the back, that's all you have to do. The casting directors will pick you for your talent, not what you dress up as."

"Exactly." WayneWayne agreed.

"So you're telling me that you can go like that," James looked WayneWayne's clothes up and down with obvious disdain, irritated. "And you can still get a job?"

"Yeah," WayneWayne shrugged as he shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. "So far it's mostly commercials."

"Which is where I had the misfortune to meet you." Riley shot back and then smiled sweetly. WayneWayne just smirked in reply, not saying anything.

"Anyway," Carlos sighed loudly. "What else do we have to look forward to while we're here?" He asked and then started to bop up and down, as if he was hyped up on sugar. "I mean, besides the parties and the dances and stuff."

"There's a film festival kind of thing that we have towards the end of the year," Stephanie commented as she turned on her video camera and started to move it around the room, staring at the small screen that showed what she was looking at. "There are some sports games-"

"Speaking of which there's a cross country race this Saturday on campus." Riley broke in. "First one of the year, not that big of a deal."

"And then there's the Beach Day Saturday, which is a really fancy name for the first Surfing/Wakeboarding competitions of the day." Stephanie added. "On that Saturday, basically the whole school heads out to the beach to watch the surf team compete in their first competition and then everyone and the surf team goes out to the lake to watch the Wakeboard competition, then everyone goes back to the beach for bonfires."

"Cool, I didn't know about that." James stated, his eyes shining.

"Are you even _on_ the surf team?" WayneWayne goaded. "Don't you still have to try out?"

"James is doing fine, I'm sure he'll get on the team." Riley replied before James could say anything.

"Wow, Riley Jackson giving a compliment, now there's a nice change in pace." Stephanie joked and then turned to Carlos. "What about you? How's the ice hockey team going?" She asked. "It starts really early, but the games don't really get going until late fall/early winter or so, everything before then is a bunch of scrimmages and practices."

"Its fine," Carlos replied as he started to tap on the top of his helmet. "Just like the hockey team I was on back home. The kids are bigger but," He put his helmet on his head and slapped it twice. "I can handle them." He then puffed out his chest. "I'm stronger than I look."

"I don't doubt that." Stephanie giggled in reply as she turned off her video camera. "But there must be something else that you would want to do while you're here."

"Well," Carlos looked thoughtful. "Apart from getting a girlfriend, I'd like to be able to join the cooking club or something. I know that that's not very manly, but-"

"It's refreshing," Stephanie encouraged. "I mean, most of the guys here just want to try and impress whatever girl is here by being the best singer or dancer of whatever. So it's a welcome change."

"If you could all take your seats instead of sitting on top of my tables, we can get homeroom started." Ms. Gordon stated in a sharp tone. Stephanie gave her an apologetic look and put her video camera away as Carlos quickly got off of the desk. WayneWayne reached for his backpack, but Riley grabbed it before he could, holding it out to him. "And Ms. McGuire, if you could turn off the lights like I had asked you to the past three minutes, it would make things easier."

"Sure thing Ms. Gordon," Riley replied, stiffening slightly before glaring. "And its Jackson," she burst out loudly. "How many times do I have to tell you that?" She gave WayneWayne his backpack before stomping over to the light switch.

"Huh, that's weird." WayneWayne muttered under his breath as he took his backpack and went to his seat.

"You say something?" James asked as he passed him.

"No." WayneWayne replied sharply, shaking his head as he sat down. _You can't just accidentally call someone by the wrong last name_. He took off his sunglasses as the lights were flipped off. _And the first day of homeroom Stephanie did say that her last name was Jackson-McGuire, when I was sure that her last name was just Jackson. _He shrugged to himself as he smirked. _Guess I'll just have to do some digging as well as figuring out what pissed her off so much._

* * *

"There you are!" Gustavo boomed as he kicked the door open to Ronan's office at Blazing Phoenix Records, causing the young man to jump, spilling coffee everywhere. "You know, you should switch to decaf so you won't be so jumpy." He commented as Ronan stood up, makings sure that coffee didn't slide off of the table and down on to his pants.

"Or you could _not _kick my door in, giving me a heart attack." Ronan replied as he left his desk and went over to the cabinet that held a box of tissues. "What brings you by, yelling at usual?" he asked as he started to blot the area quickly, not wanting any of his stuff to get ruined.

"How long does that teen pop icon and your daughters or whatever to find me someone that I can use?" Gustavo demanded as he grabbed Ronan's chair and sat down into it. Ronan winced as the arm-rests were pushed out to the sides. "I need them soon or Hawk is going to surpass me."

"They can only move so fast," Ronan replied defensively as he continued to blot. "I mean, they still have school work and some of their own social stuff to go through." He then looked up. "And what does Hawk have anything to do with this?"

"School work, school work!" Gustavo spat in reply. He pulled off his sunglasses and narrowed his eyes at Ronan. "How do I know that you're not just trying to help Hawk?"

"Because I'm not crazy." Ronan replied with a short laugh. "I don't know if you're noticed, but even though you and I are friends," he paused as Gustavo made a face. "I guess," he added quickly. "I'm technically your rival as well, so why would I go and help someone when I could potentially use what I know for myself."

"Because you've already got a band, which just so happen to be your kids, who have a whole country _and_ a continent for a fan-base." Gustavo reminded him.

"Good point." Ronan agreed. "So you're freaking because-"

"_Because _Hawk is such a copy-cat that he's going and doing the same thing that I'm doing." Gustavo snapped as he got up out of his seat and started pacing back and forth.

"Which is what, exac-"

"HAWK IS DOING THE SAME THING THAT I'M DOING AT CABS, BUT FOR LABS!" Gustavo shouted as he grabbed onto Ronan's shoulders and started to shake him. "THEY'RE HAVING A COMPETITION LIKE CABS IS AND WHOMEVER WINS AS A SINGER GETS TO WORK WITH HIM AND HAVE A YEAR CONTRACT WITH HIM!" He suddenly stopped shaking Ronan. "Speaking of which, don't you have to work at the school today?"

"I wish I was," Ronan admitted as he held onto his head, his eyes rolling around in its sockets. "That way I wouldn't have been shaken like that." He closed his eyes and shook his head again, waiting for the room to stop spinning. "Unfortunately for me I had the day off today, because I had no classes, and I thought that coming down here would be a good idea, but then you came along and started freaking out.

"I'M NOT FREAKING OUT!" Gustavo screamed. Ronan winced as a potted plant behind him cracked and broke apart, sending dirt and water all over his carpet. Gustavo looked over at it innocently and then raised his eyes back to Ronan, who had his arms cross over his chest, glaring back at Gustavo. "Yeah, you're going to want to get that fixed."

"Remember Ronan, you can go to jail for strangling someone." Ronan mumbled through gritted teeth before taking a few calming breaths. "So if you're not freaking out what are you doing exactly? And where's Kelly? Usually she'd be here right now trying to take your blood pressure so you don't keel over or something."

"She's out doing something," Gustavo replied as he waved his hands in the air. "But you need to make sure that these kids give me an idea of who is going to help me sooner rather than later, or I'm sunk and Griffin is going to fire me."

"I'll do the best I can." Ronan replied as he held up his hands defensively. "But while you're waiting, I suggest that you take some sort of cholesterol pill or something, because all of this screaming is going to do nothing but kill you in the near future." He tossed the coffee soaked tissues into the trash-can as Gustavo made a sound, denying his screaming. "Oh, you don't think you scream? Then who is this?" He cleared his throat and puffed up his chest. "I'M GUSTAVO ROCQUE, I'M AMAZING! AND YOU SHOULD ALL LISTENTO WHAT I SAW AND COWER BENEATH ME!"

"I don't sound like that." Gustavo declared, denying as usual. He had his arms crossed over his chest and was pouting at Ronan's statement.

"Right." Ronan replied, rolling his eyes sardonically. "Now get out of here and get some work done before you go crazy with nervousness." He went back to his desk and opened his computer, getting to work.

"Yeah, yeah," Gustavo turned, defeated, and went to the door. "By the way," he looked Ronan up and down and then gave a wicked grin. "Your tie is stupid."

Ronan made a face back. "_Your_ tie is stupid!" He shot back the first thing that popped into his head and then winced at how lame and childish it sounded. Here he was, a grown man trading insults with a man that he considered a friend and an enemy at the same time.

"I'm not wearing a tie." Gustavo stuck out his tongue.

"Out!"

* * *

"Kacy, what do you think that going out to California is going to prove?" Brooke asked as she folded her arms on the table, business-like. "I'm speaking realistically, how do you think that it's going to help you and Kendall and Katie?" Brooke Diamond was a make-up mogul and the one woman that adult men were scared of. She was so powerful she could probably become the president of the United States if she wanted to one day. So having had dragged her from work to talk to one of her friends about possibly moving out to another state, she wasn't going to take it lying down.

"It's going to show Kendall and Katie that they have a welcoming feeling in California as well as back here in Minnesota where all of their other friends and family are." Kacy defended herself, trying not to make eye contact with Brooke for fear of breaking down. "They need someone there to make sure that they're ok and to help them achieve their dreams."

"But we all know that it was James that wanted to go out there," Sylvia Mitchell broke in. "and that the boys went along to give him support." She explained gently. "Don't you think that with their help that's support enough?" She didn't give Kacy a chance to answer as she had opened her mouth. "They have enough support to keep them going even though they're somewhat far away from home.'

"They need to have parental support right there to help them." Kacy explained patiently. "I know my kids, they need me."

"Or is it you that needs them?" Joanna questioned, but there was a somewhat hard edge to her tone. "I used to think that Carlos was the same way, he always followed me around and cried on the first day of every school year because he didn't want to leave my side. But as soon as he met Kendall, James, and Logan, he started to break away even more and get into the kinds of trouble that I always expected him to get into. He still needs me, but he doesn't need me as much as he used to."

"What's your point, Joanna?" Kacy asked, starting to become irritated. Why couldn't they just understand that she wanted to go see her kids, to make sure that they were ok and that they were having fun and that nothing was wrong? Why was it so hard for them to get it?

"Maybe, because your husband had left you when your kids were so young, you feel that you have to protect them from everything that the world wants to throw at them." Joanna replied slowly, watching Kacy's face as she let the words break in.

"There's no maybe about it," Brooke broke in, being straight-forward as usual. "That's what the problem is. You need to let them go off and do what they need to do on their own. You need to let them experience failures and successes while they're far away so they can learn how to handle it on their own. I know it's hard, but it's what's best for them."

"And you can still call them and use e-mail and video chat to communicate with them all you want." Sylvia reminded her. "We just don't want you to try and go out there and not have a place to stay or anything when you do, because then your kids will start to worry about you and that's not their job at all. Their job is to be kids and to live their life to the fullest; it's our job to worry about our kids."

"And that' what I'm doing!" Kacy burst out. "I'm worrying." She buried her face in her hands for a few seconds, trying to get her thoughts together. "You don't understand."

"We're trying to." Joanna frowned.

Kacy frowned as well as she thought it over. Maybe they were right, maybe she was trying to stay with them too much to make sure that they didn't get hurt or so she could be with them so something that they did try and didn't succeed didn't get them down that much. But they couldn't understand why she wanted to be there so badly. Joanna and Sylvia both had husbands that would help them when they tried to figure out what to do with their kids and how to help them. Brooke was different though, her husband acted like teenager, not an adult, he even went and divorced Brooke and married a woman that was 15 years younger than him just so he could feel young again and so he didn't have to worry about having a lot of responsibility. Because of that, James permanently lived with his mother and although he turned out perfectly fine under her care, it still wasn't the same. James is an only child, so are Logan and Carlos. Kacy has to worry about two kids, one who is almost an adult, and one who is just barely a teenager; it was different for her and for the other mothers and their experiences was never going to be the same. So she was going to make different decisions. But this time, she made up her mind.

"I don't care what you ladies have to say," Kacy said firmly as she shook her head. "I'm going out to California. And I'm leaving tonight."

* * *

**A/N: First off, we know that Mrs. Knight's first name was revealed to be Jennifer. But at the beginning of the story we mentioned that her name was Kacy and we really like the idea of hers and her son's and daughter's names to all start with a 'K' so it's going to stay as Kacy in this story. And she has a prominent role in this story as well as Gustavo and Kelly, and we wanted to bring them in, in a way that was sort of different. Plus, it's good every now and then to have a chapter that's not always centered on BTR and their friends so you can help with the other characters' character development. I hope that you guys liked this chapter, we'll update again soon. The next chapter I write will be longer.**

**Oh and while you guys are waiting for the next chapter go to YouTube and type in 'DarkElements – We Are Family'. :) And if you don't do that, just go to our profile and click on the link that goes to our DarkElements YouTube page.**

**Cheers,**

**-Riley**


	15. Chapter 15: Big Time Meeting

**~Chapter Fifteen – Big Time Meeting~**

* * *

"I understand your concern, Mr. McGuire, but there's not much we can do about the situation," Miss Miller said in a tight voice as she peered up at the impatient man over the top of her glasses. "They're already long gone."

"And yet every time they come onto this campus they stir up even more trouble," Ronan replied, his knuckles white as he gripped the back of the chair he was standing by.

"The schools are rivals, Mr. McGuire, of course there's going to be trouble," Miss Miller said, setting her glasses aside, rubbing the side of her head. "Of course you've heard of those fights that CABS has initiated at their school, that _your daughters_ have initiated at their school. I could bring up their files and show you just how many-"

Ronan pressed his lips together, putting up his hand. "I've already dealt with them, thank you." He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a heavy sigh. "Those kids brought beer onto the campus."

"I'm quite aware of the situation but there's not much we can do," Miss Miller replied and edge to her tone. She folded her hands on her desk and let out a heavy sigh. "More and more complaints have been coming in from that school. There is a time where they die down, but then it starts back up again. If you could give me some names, I can file a report, and let their school handle them."

"So there's nothing we can do about it?" Ronan demanded. "What kind of school is this if we can't enforce the rules to keep our children safe?"

"They _are _safe, Mr. McGuire," Miss Mille said, her voice getting louder. "What do you want us to do?"

"Search their bags…_something_!" Ronan replied, slapping the chair. "Need I remind you that they have a few theft charges on their hands? Search their bags before they arrive on campus and after they leave the locker room!"

"We might as well put up security detectors as well," Miss Miller snapped. "I'll be sure to pass on your concerns to Mr. Turner, and I assure you that actions will be taken."

"We have to do something, now, Miss Miller," Ronan replied, his voice getting louder and louder with each word. "Before something bad could happen."

"What could happen at CABS that could be so bad?" Miss Miller asked, her eyes hardening.

"I'm just trying to warn you before something happens," Ronan replied. "These kids are teenagers. They're bound to snap! Something could happen."

"Like what?" Miss Miller demanded.

"Oh, I don't know," Ronan pretended to think, rolling his eyes. "Maybe a school shooting or something! Kids these days are more dangerous than when we were kids."

"I'm aware," Miss Miller replied shortly. "This is a safe school, Mr. McGuire, and I suggest you you're your voice down or I will send you directly out of this office." Ronan gave a short nod and Miss Miller visibly deflated. "I understand your concern, Mr. McGuire, but we can't do anything about Ace Whitaker unless your daughter speaks up about it."

"…I've tried talking to her," Ronan said after a moment of silence, dropping into the chair, loosening his tie. "She doesn't want to talk about it. I just have to wait until she's ready."

"How are they doing?" Miss Miller asked, sliding her glasses back onto her face. "It hasn't been that long since you've adopted them."

"They're doing great," Ronan replied, a fond smile coming to his face. "In fact, the happiest I've seen them. There are just some things that they don't like to share with me and that's fine, I can't pressure them into anything." He licked his lips. "But, it's harder than I thought to be a single parent, especially when you get six kids all at once. Luckily, I can rely on the older ones whenever I'm going to be out late." Miss Miller raised her eyebrows. "Most of the time."

"Well, if that's everything," Miss Miller prompted, leaving the sentence hanging in the air.

"Thank you for your time," Ronan replied in a tight voice, straightening his tie before heading out of the room, closing the door behind him. He glanced at his watch and sighed. "I have 2 hours before my next class." He sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I need something to drink."

He pulled his car keys from his pocket and headed out to the faculty parking lot, quickly firing off a text to his kids if by chance they went looking for him but couldn't find him. He hopped into his car, buckled his seat belt, and turned on the ignition, making a face as country music blasted his ears.

'_Rhuben must've borrowed my car without asking again_' he thought, shaking his head back and forth as he immediately ejected the CD. '_I'm going to have to have a long talk with her_.' He quickly turned on the radio, and fiddled with the knobs until he found a station he liked and backed out of his parking spot before heading off campus, driving along the road.

Ten minutes later, he pulled into the parking lot of his favorite coffee place, Drippin' Hot. He got out of the car, whistling to himself, and stopping to get a newspaper off the stack by the door before making his way inside to a round table. He ordered a mocha for himself (something he always drank when he needed to relax) and got to work on his crossword puzzle.

He was deep in thought, trying to figure out a clue for the crossword but stopped when an annoying sound reached his ears. He looked around the room, trying to find the source, when his eyes landed on an auburn haired woman, sitting in a booth all by herself.

The tips of red flats beat a nervous tat-at, tat-at, ta-tam against the dark tile floor of the coffee house. They paused only as the sensible brown loafers of the waiter meandered over and set down a drink. Medium length red nails stopped running through her wavy hair and reached out, clinking against the ice cold glass.

She sipped gingerly, pulling a face at the plain spring water. Her eyes wandered over the room, flickering to the door each time it was opened. Ronan quickly lowered his gaze back to his crossword puzzle as she looked enviously over at him. To busy himself, he sipped his mocha, setting it down on the table with a soft clink before loosening his tie and unbuttoning the top button of his shirt.

Another dissatisfying gulp of water went down, and Ronan looked back over at her. She glanced at the clock, then the door, and then a longing glance at the mocha; rich, dark, and steaming pleasantly. The waiter came over and refilled her glass, causing her to sigh. Ronan watched a she jumped as the bell above the coffee house door sounded, and she knocked over her cup of water. She grabbed a napkin and started to mop up the spilled drink.

Ronan motioned the waiter over to him. "Excuse me, but could you please get her a mocha?" he asked quietly, nodding over at the woman. "With hazelnut, I'll be happy to pay for it."

"Certainly, sir," the waiter replied with a small head nod.

He watched as the waiter went to the back room, filled a mug with mocha, and set it down on her table. She looked confused, pushing the mug away from her until the waiter motioned over to Ronan. Ronan gave a small smile and a wave. The woman gave a small smile back and nodded at him after Ronan motioned to join her at her table.

He grabbed his crossword puzzle and his cup of mocha before sliding into the booth across from her. "Thank you," the woman said with a warm smile. "You didn't have to do that."

"You looked stressed out," Ronan replied with a shrug as he set his newspaper aside. "Mocha always helps me relax. I just hope you're not allergic to hazelnut."

"No, no, it's fine," the woman replied, tapping her fingernails on the cup. She then extended her right hand. "Kacy Knight."

"Ronan McGuire," Ronan replied, taking her hand and shaking it. He then looked her over. "I take it you're not from California."

"What gives you that idea?" the woman asked, taken aback.

"You look like you're burning up," Ronan replied. "Why are you wearing that sweater? It's just about 90 degrees outside."

"I guess I underestimated how warm it actually is out here," Kacy replied with a small shrug before shrugging out of her sweater, revealing a light blue t-shirt. "I'm from Minnesota, it's not that hot out there."

"I'll bet," Ronan replied with a polite nod. "So, why are you out here then? You look nervous? Or lost?"

"I'm lost actually," Kacy replied, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I'm looking for a school called City of Angels Boarding School."

"Oh, you mean, CABS," Ronan automatically replied, his eyebrows raised. "Are you thinking of sending your kids there? I could set you up with a tour or-"

"No, no, my kids already attend the school," Kacy replied, waving her hands in the air. "I have a son and a daughter."

Ronan peered at her, his eyebrows knitting, as his eyes narrowed a little bit. Kacy took a sip of her mocha, smiling as she swallowed. "You said your last name was Knight, right?" Kacy nodded as she took another sip. "Your kids wouldn't be Kendall and Katie Knight, would it?"

Kacy chocked on her mocha a little bit. She grabbed a napkin out of its container, putting it to her mouth as she started to cough. "How did…you know that?" She let out a hard cough, massaging her throat, before she swallowed. "Yes, they're my kids."

"I'm one of Katie's teachers," Ronan replied, folding his hand on the table. "And I must say she's one of my better students." He then paused, his lips twitching. "Not to suck up or anything."

"Of course not," Kacy replied with a small shake of her head. "So, what do you teach?"

"Business," Ronan replied shortly. "How to start and maintain a business, management, marketing, human resources, stuff like that. But that's my side job."

"Really?" Kacy's eyebrows raised. "A man well dressed like you needs two jobs?"

Ronan laughed a little bit. "I'm a music producer really, have been for a while now, and I love every minute of it," he explained. "I also teach a music composition class. I guess you could call it that. It's pretty much a class where people learn what I do in the music industry, but it's only for people who actually want to take the class."

"So then why are you teaching if you love producing so much?" Kacy asked, tilting her head to the side. Ronan then noticed that she had bright green eyes.

"Because my kids go to CABS and it's one of the only ways I can keep an eye on them," Ronan replied, running his fingers through his hair. "They tend to get into a lot of trouble. Plus, I just adopted them a few months back so I want to make sure everything's ok with them."

"Are you a single parent?" Kacy suddenly asked. Ronan blinked at her, a confused look coming to his face. "You never mentioned a wife or girlfriend when explaining your situation, so I just assumed."

"Well, yes, I am," Ronan replied. Kacy nodded.

"So am I," she replied. "So, I understand what you're going through."

"Yeah, but you've had years of experience, raising two kids," Ronan replied drumming his thumbs on the table. "I on the other hand just adopted six kids at once."

"_Really_?" Kacy's eyes widened.

"Well, the oldest, Julius, is almost 20 so he's living with his girlfriend right now, attending college. He didn't really need to be adopted as he's already a legal adult, but went through the process with his siblings anway," Ronan replied, counting off on his fingers. "Riley and Rhuben will be 17 in a few weeks, and the three of them look out for the younger ones. Patrick and Noah are about to turn 14, and then Sydney is the youngest and will be 10 soon."

"Wow, I'm impressed, taking them in all at once," Kacy said with a small smile, shaking her head. "I don't know if you're a nice person or just crazy."

"Well, if I'm not crazy now, I'm sure I'll get there eventually," Ronan said, laughing a little bit, causing Kacy to chuckle as well. The two of them fell into silence, busying themselves by taking sips from their cups of mocha.

"Your kids' names sound really familiar," Kacy commented, setting her cup down.

"Oh, they're the band I work for…with…I produce music for my kids," Ronan replied, struggling for a way to explain his situation without sounding like he was bragging. "The DarkElements? That's my kids band."

"Oh, yeah, I've heard their music," Kacy replied, a smile coming to her face. "Congratulations, they're really talented." Ronan gave a short nod in reply. "You're not bragging by the way. I think it's wodnerufl that you adopted them and you should be happy to have such talented kids."

"I am, I am," Ronan replied with a series of nods. "They just weren't adopted on the best terms and…I don't really like to talk about it." He shook his head, as if trying to erase a memory. "Um, anyway, so, if you don't mind my asking, your husband? He, uh, walked out or—"

"Yeah, he did," Kacy replied in a quiet voice, playing with her napkin. "About ten years ago now. He just left."

"I'm sorry," Ronan replied, his voice just as quiet. "I didn't mean to upset you. I was just—"

"No, no, it's ok," Kacy replied, waving her hand in the air. She dabbed at the corner of her yes with her napkin, attempting a smile. "I thought I was over it, but I guess it still bothers me sometimes. So, what happened to your girlfriend? Or wife?"

"Don't have one," Ronan replied, shaking his head. "I'm single and have been for a little bit. I'd like to say that it's because I haven't had time to look, but I know that it's just because my kids keep scaring away my dates because they want to find someone perfect for me."

Kacy smiled. "Well, I hope you find someone."

"You too," Ronan replied, giving a smile as well. "Listen, I could show you were CABS is. Do you need a ride or—"

"Yes, I do," Kacy replied, a small blush coming to her face. "I've never been apart from my kids, so I just I had to come down here. But, I kinda stiffed my taxi driver of paying the fare so—"

"Say no more," Ronan replied, putting up his hand. He called the waiter over and asked for their check, immediately offering to pay. "I'd be happy to drive you over."

"Thank you, that's very nice of you," Kacy smiled, tucking her hair behind her ears as she slid out of the booth, grabbing her purse and her bag that Ronan noticed were sitting under the table.

"It's no problem," Ronan replied, leaving some money on the table before grabbing his newspaper, tucking it under his arm. "But, I was just wondering what you planned on doing once you got out here? Do you have a place to live or anything?"

Kacy's face dropped and she let out a heavy sigh. "I don't know," she admitted. "I wasn't really thinking. I was just worried about Kendall and Katie that I just packed up everything and came flying out here. I never really thought about it."

"Well, you could stay in my apartment," Ronan suggested, rubbing his chin. Kacy raised an eyebrow at him and he shifted his weight from foot to foot. "I have to be on campus early so in most cases I stay in the campus suite with my kids, you'd practically have the whole place to yourself." He lead the way to his car, unlocking it, before pulling the passenger side door open for her before making his way around the car to the driver's seat. "Or I could pay for a hotel room for you."

"I guess we can figure this out later, I just want to see my kids," Kacy commented after a moment of silence.

"Right," Ronan replied, turning in his seat to look out the back window as he backed out of the car. "We'll be there in about 15 minutes." He tapped his thumbs on the steering wheel as he drove through the streets of California. '_Say something, Ronan_.'

"You're not thinking about taking your kids out of school are you?" Ronan suddenly asked, as he took a right turn, turning down the volume of the radio. "They're really going to benefit at CABS."

"No, I would never do that," Kacy replied, shaking her head. "They both know how important I think education is and from their phone calls, they seem to really like it here. I'd just…I want them to feel like they have support here no matter what they do. Kendall said they're entering the end of year contest for Gustavo Rocque. Do you know him?"

Kacy jumped as Ronan let out a loud laugh. "Know him? He's been the bane of my existence for years!" he commented once his laughter had died down.

"Really?" Kacy asked, her eyes widening.

"Well, yes, and no," Ronan agreed, shrugging. "He won't admit it, but he's been my friend for a while know, helping me out when I first got my job out here. But, he's also one of my rivals in this business." He pointed out the window at a tall building they were passing. "You see that building?"

"Yes," Kacy nodded.

"That's where the studio I work in is," Ronan explained. "We'll be passing Rocque Records on the way to the school. He's been trying to outdo me for years because while I've been working with the DarkElements and their careers have been going up, he hasn't had the big success in the past decade which is why he's holding the contest." He ran his fingers through his hair. "My kids and I are helping him out, hoping he can make a comeback.

"But, if he's your rival, why are you helping him out?" Kacy asked, a confused look appearing on her face. Ronan glanced over at her before keeping his eyes on the road.

"If you don't have a friend in the business, it's hard to be successful," Ronan replied. "A lot of people see Gustavo as a man who's loud, and angry all the time…which he is, but over the years I've found that he's funny, selfless, and a great guy. But, he's stressed with wanting to get his career back, and wanting everything to be perfect. Like I said, he may not admit it, but I consider him a friend of mine."

"Does Gustavo work at the school as well?" Kacy asked, looking at each building they passed.

They all took her breath away. They were big and bright and shiny as they had a lot of windows and she was excited to see palm trees as well. She always wanted to go to a place like Florida or California for vacation but never had the chance to do so. Money was sort of tight as she was a stay at home mom, and had worked odd jobs to bring in money.

Even Kendall worked at the local grocery store in Minnesota to help pay the bills. He was always happy to do so, but she could tell that he didn't like the responsibility at the same time. She felt like it wasn't fair for him to have to spend his well earned money on bills and to pay for food instead of spending it on things he wanted.

"No way," Ronan said, shaking his head. "He'd have a heart attack within the first thirty seconds of a class if he was to teach or even work there. But, he's heard of the success stories of kids who graduated from CABS so he decided to partner up with them this year. Oh, there's Rocque Records. Your son will work there if he wins the contest."

"Do you think he stands a chance?" Kacy asked.

"Well, that's the funny thing about people in the music business," Ronan commented, a small smile coming to his face. "You may think people will never get that famous or that successful and they surprise you. There are many people I've seen become famous and successful even after I told them that I didn't think the music business was right for them. In short, yes, I think he has a chance."

"Kendall's a good singer," Kacy commented. "Even if he doesn't want people to know about it. James is the one that really wants it though. Oh, I'm sorry, James is—"

"I've had the pleasure of meeting Kendall's friends," Ronan gently interrupted her. "James is the one that really wants this, yeah?" He watched Kacy nod out of the corner of his eye. "Well, from what I've heard, Kendall, Logan, and Carlos are only here to help James. But, I bet they'll turn around and eventually love the process. They seem like the type that'll do everything they can to get James to reach his goal. There are not a lot of people like that in the world. I think they'll go far."

"You said earlier that you work at the school to keep an eye on your kids?"

"My kids are a devious bunch, but they're good kids at the same time," Ronan replied, stopping at a stop light, turning to look at her. "They know right from wrong and always sticks up for their friends and for what they believe in. But sometimes they make me want to pull my hair out."

"I know the feeling," Kacy said with a small laugh. "Light's green."

Ronan put his gaze back on the road, pushing his foot onto the gas pedal.

* * *

**And there's the next chapter. I wanted to show more of Ronan in this chapter and decided to have it where he meets Kendall and Katie's mom and go off from there.**

**Cheers,**

**-Rhubes**


	16. Chapter 16: Big Time Detention

**.:Chapter Sixteen – Big Time Detention:.**

* * *

"Hey Katie, do you want some cereal or something?" Jo asked from the couch as the young girl moved across the common area of their dorm, grabbing things and shoving them into her backpack.

"Nah, I'll just pick some up at Moody," Katie replied as she shook her head. "I need to meet up with some people to ask them question for my business project and I know that a lot of people go there for breakfast so…" she trailed off the end of her sentence, knowing that there was no need to finish it. "Thanks for the offer though." She smiled and gave a short wave to Camille and Stephanie as they left their room and started to make their own breakfast. "So, when are you going to tell Kendall that you _don't _have a boyfriend?"

Camille and Stephanie turned around, looking at Katie and Jo with wide eyes as Jo started to choke on her bite of cereal. Katie waited patiently as Jo fought to regain composure. _How could she have possibly known that? _Jo thought to herself, turning her eyes back to Katie as she continued to cough. _I never told anyone except Dak, Camille, and Stephanie that I don't really have a boyfriend and that it's only to get Jett off my back. So how could she have known?_ Finally, Jo's coughing calmed down and she lightly put her bowl on the table in front of her before turning to Katie.

"How did you know that?" she asked quietly.

"Please," Katie snorted, seemingly offended. "I'm thirteen, not stupid." She placed her hands on her hips. "I make it my business to know basically everything about everyone, especially how much money people make." She added as an afterthought. "And for reasons that are only known to him, my brother likes you. So if you want to have a really great guy, tell him the truth." She hoisted her backpack over her shoulder and gave a bright smile. 'Bye!" Katie turned and left the dorm room, leaving the older girls in stunned silence.

"That girl is _way _smarter than we give her credit for," Stephanie commented, shaking her head. "So much so it's creepy."

"Yeah," Jo replied, sounding distracted as she grabbed her cereal bowl again. She jumped as there was a sudden loud knock on the door.

"I got it," Camille dropped her cereal bowl onto the counter and went over to the front door to open it. She grabbed the door knob and pulled it open, immediately taking a few steps back when she saw Miss. Martin standing in the doorway. She had her arms crossed over her chest, and had somewhat of a smile on her face. "Miss. Martin," at the name Jo and Stephanie got up and moved behind Camille to see what was going on. "What brings you by?"

"Well, it just seems that I have some new for you girls today," Miss. Martin then looked behind the three of them and her smile seemed to grow when she saw their backpacks hanging off of the chairs at the kitchen table. "Well, you're not going to need your books today." She then turned her eyes back to the girls. "You're going to be in all-day detention for _trying _to sneak back in after staying out past curfew." She placed her hands behind her back. "Now, normally this would be a suspension, but it's the beginning of the year, so Mr. Turner felt that we should be a little lenient on it."

Stephanie's eyes widened at the thought, her parents were definitely going to find out about it, and they would probably do the same thing that they had done before. Say that if she kept getting in trouble, Stephanie wasn't going to be able to hang out with her friends anymore. They would make sure that she didn't have any contact with them. And so far, they didn't act upon that, but she knew that one day soon, they were going to come in and pluck her from the school, no matter how well she was doing.

"We understand," Stephanie said quietly, nodding slowly. "Thanks and we're sorry."

"I hope that you are." Miss. Martin turned on her heel and walked away from the girls' dorm, her footsteps echoing down the hallways until there was silence.

* * *

Katie hummed to herself, reaching into her pocket and pulling her iPod from her pocket and jammed the ear buds into her ears and blasting an upbeat pop song as she walked to Moody. She really did need to ask people some questions, but she needed help to figure out what she was going to do for her project, she had absolutely no ideas at all. Her homework was easy; she understood basically everything you needed to know about making and running a business as well as filing for bankruptcy. She even knew how to scam people out of their money so well she could probably write a book on it and retire with the fortune she makes from it after college.

So how hard could it be to come up with some simple business project? Apparently pretty hard, Katie went around to everyone that she knew and there was no topic that really helped her or gave her a big idea for her project. She was still thinking when a voice sounded behind her.

"Mind if I sit with you?" Dak asked as he pulled out the chair next to her and sat down, not waiting for an answer. "Sorry if you don't want me to sit here, I just don't like the idea of a young girl sitting alone." He flashed her a smile and started into a waffle that was on his plate.

Katie smiled back, her hands suddenly becoming sweaty. She quickly wiped them on the legs of her jeans and swallowed thickly. "So, uh, what brings you by here so early? I figured you'd eat at home." She started to babble. "I mean, since you live at home, and you commute here every day, I figured it would be easier to eat there and…yeah…" she finally fell silent, scratching her forehead in confusion.

"Can't," Dak replied, licking syrup off his lips. "I have to take Lizzie into school pretty early," he rolled his eyes. "I have no idea why, but the people, who are completely obsessed with dancing, get up at all odd hours of the day to dance and Lizzie needed to get in early today." He wiped his hands off on a napkin. "Mom and Dad leave for work when we're still asleep so I always have to drive her to school. And since I get her early enough, I just eat breakfast here. It sucks 'cause it costs five bucks each time, but the good here is ok."

"So, uh do you think that you'll be able to help me later?" Katie asked, running her hands over each other as she nervously waited for an answer. _What is the matter with me? I've __never__ gotten this nervous over a guy before. I mean, I have a lot of guys that are my friends and I've never felt like this before._

"I wish I could," Dak replied as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and read a text as his tone blared. "And trust me I wish I could," he looked at his phone and then over to Katie before turning it around for her to see. "But apparently, I have all day detention."

"That sucks," Katie sympathized.

"Really." Dak replied, but managed to smile again.

Katie smiled back.

* * *

"I've never gotten a detention in my whole life," Logan moaned as he ran his hands over his face. "I can't believe the first time I get a detention is because," he turned in his seat and glared at Dak. "of _you_."

Dak looked offended as he crossed his arms over his chest, sinking in his chair. "You're welcome," he replied sarcastically. "Because I purposely tried to help you guys back into your dorms because I knew that we were all going to get caught and be put into detention."

"Stop talking!" A sadistic smirk crossed Mrs. Leborion's face as she looked from face to face of the teenagers in the room, memorizing the various contours of those attending her detention session. "Detention will be served in silence," she snapped from the front of her room. "That means no homework, no mobiles, and certainly no hand-held video games."

"But if we're not supposed to do homework, then what are we going to do while we're in here?" WayneWayne asked, crossing his arms over his chest as he slid down in his chair.

"Just sit here and stare straight ahead," Mrs. Leborion replied. To Kendall, Logan, Carlos, and James' shock, she turned and walked right out of the room.

"When you're in detention, aren't you supposed to have a teacher watching you?" Carlos asked, looking confused. "I mean, that's the way that we've always done it when we were back home."

"Yeah, well at CABS, they believe that if you stay in the detention room by yourself you actually think about what you have done wrong and decided that you will never do it again." Rhuben explained her hands on her chin. "Basically they torture you with silence."

"You sound like you've been in detention before, Beautiful." James commented as he looked over at her, flicking his hair out his face.

"And it was never my fault." Rhuben replied with a smirk.

"You do know that that's Rhu, right?" Camille asked as she raised an eyebrow. James made a face back at her, causing her to giggle a little bit. "Besides, it's not like they have cameras in here, basically the only thing you can't do is try to escape because there are teachers _everywhere_ when you have a detention that lasts the whole day."

"Logie, calm down," Kendall laughed and reached over, slapping his friend on the shoulder. He had started to chew on his fingernails. "It's just one little detention. It's not going to do much to your GPA, it won't go on your school record, and there's no way that you mom can find out." His cell phone suddenly buzzed and he got up from his seat and grabbed it off of the desk where everyone else's phones were sitting as they had been confiscated as soon as they had entered the room. Kendall read the text that he had gotten and his eyes bulged open.

"What's up with you?" Riley commented, snorting a little bit. "Did you just find out that hockey isn't considered a sport anymore, Hockey-Head?"

"Good one." James laughed.

"Thank you."

"Worse," Kendall croaked and then paused. "Well, it depends on the way that you look at it." He reconsidered his earlier statement. "My mom is here." He looked up as James, Carlos, and Logan gasped loudly. "Yeah, now you know that that's a problem."

"What's wrong with your mom being here?" Jo asked, brushing her hair behind her shoulders. "She's just visiting right?"

"No you don't understand," Logan sat back in his seat, finally coming to terms that he wasn't going to leave that room until the school day ended. "Mama Knight is like a Mama Bear. She basically protects all of us, feeds us when we need it, and acts like our mother's even though we have mothers. So her being here, isn't because she's here to visit, it's got to be something else."

"I'm sure you're making it worse than it actually is." Stephanie continued as she pulled her video camera out of her backpack and turned it on, started to move it back and forth across the room as she walked over to Kendall to get a look at the text. "What does the text say?"

"Trust me this is bad," Kendall handed the phone over to her and spoke more to his best friends, even though he was talking to everyone in the room. "Apparently, mom got so worried about us, us I'm not sure meaning the five of us or me and Katie, buts he moved out here and is now working at the school as a teaching assistant."

"But your mom can't teach." Logan blurted out.

"Thanks."

"You know what I mean."

"Aww, does little Kendork miss his mommy?" WayneWayne asked as he stuck out his lower lip in a pout. "It doesn't surprise me really." He commented. "I'm sure that your dad must hate the fact that you favor your mom."

Kendall whipped his head up towards WayneWayne as the last words came out of his mouth and he got off the desk and surged towards him, his hands clenched into fists. Carlos and James quickly blocked his way, having to forcefully push his back until he was sitting back down on the desk.

"What's wrong?" Camille asked, looking over at Logan, who looked worried, biting his nails again. Logan looked over at her and then allowed himself to relax, giving a soft smile.

"It's nothing," he replied shortly. "Kendall and his dad just don't have a great relationship, and WayneWayne sort of hit a soft spot about it."

"Dude, seriously," Dak turned to WayneWayne. "You really got to knock it off with this attitude that you have or you're going to push all of your potential friends away."

"Dak's right," Camille agreed and walked over to WayneWayne. "I mean, we were best friends before, and we can be best friends again." She shook her head at him. "But I don't' think that I can be your friend again if all you do is just lie about the real you and make fun of my friends all the time."

"Whatever." WayneWayne looked away, but he seemed a little uncomfortable at the same time.

"Hey, at least you tried," Riley commented from where she was looking down at her phone. "I mean, at least you can say that much." She hopped down from the teacher's desk and went to go back to the seat she was sitting in, but her foot got caught on the leg of another table and she hit the ground, face-first.

"Are you ok, Landy?" Logan asked as James quickly helped her to her feet.

"That's why you wear a helmet." Carlos added as he slapped his own.

"She's fine." Rhuben replied with a laugh as her sister got back to her feet. "She's the biggest klutz I have ever seen in my entire life." She motioned over to the girls. "We're all so used to it that we don't even bother to try and help her back up to her feet because she bounces back fast."

"That is so karma." Dak laughed at her.

"Shut up, DZ." Riley replied, rubbing her knees.

Dak continued to laugh to himself as he turned back to WayneWayne. He noticed the direction that WayneWayne was looking and then his eyes widened before he laughed harder and slapped him friend on the arm, causing his eyes to go shooting over to his. "Oh my god, dude, you like her." He declared.

WayneWayne just shrugged a shoulder. "So?" he questioned.

Dak looked amused. "You're not even going to deny it?"

WayneWayne shrugged again. "What's the point in denying it?" he asked honestly. "You're not going to get yourself very far if you just try and deny something that you know is true."

Dak nodded slowly.

"I'm bored." Stephanie commented after a second and looked up from her video camera, her green eyes flashing. "Let's play a game."

"Every time those words come out of your mouth, something bad happens." Jo reminded her friend and then eyed the video camera. "And if we're going to be playing some sort of game that you come up with, we don't want video evidence that could potentially be used against us in a blackmailing sense."

Stephanie thought about it for a second. "What if I told you it was for a project?"

"You do realize that it would be somewhat against the law if you did that right?" Logan commented to her as he sent a smirk her way. "It's against the law to record someone without their permission."

"Well then I would have gone to jail a long time ago." Stephanie replied carelessly.

Kendall frowned when he noticed Rhuben flinch, running her hand over her face, suddenly looking tired. _Hm, I wonder why that could cause someone to flinch; it was just a passing comment. _His frown deepened as he continued to look around the room. _Wow, I just only realized that I don't know any of these people, except for the guys, and I already consider them my friends. But they have different lives at their homes that I don't even know about…and there's so much that even the guys don't know about me._

"Logie, has anyone ever told you that you are _way_ too cautious sometimes?" Rhuben asked and then walked over to him, mussing his hair. "Yes, if I do remember correctly, I've told you that numerous times before, you need to lighten up." She placed her hands on her hips. "Its things like that that's really going to make you fail when you try out for the wakeboard team."

"Thanks for the advice." Logan shot her a look.

"It doesn't come cheap," she patted him on the shoulder. "Remember that." She turned back around to speak to Stephanie about the game idea, but then noticed that Camille was looking her way. She noticed a fleeting look of jealous cross her features, but then it disappeared pretty quickly.

"Well can we please decide on doing something?" James asked, looking like he was starting to become hysterical. "Because I don't think that I can sit here for hours on end, being quiet?"

"James, you've never been quiet in your entire life." Carlos commented, twirling his helmet in his hands. "Ever since I met you, all I've ever heard you talk about was fame this and fame that and blah, blah, blah." All of a sudden his eyes widened. "Oh my gosh, we haven't chosen our song to perform for class tomorrow."

"Eh, we'll deal with it later." James replied with a wave of his hand. "We have all day apparently." His stomach growled loudly. "Is anyone else getting hungry?"

"Yeah, I am too." Carlos agreed, easily adapting to the quick subject change.

"There's a vending machine down the hall." Rhuben commented, drumming her fingers on the desk top. "We can leave to get food and go to the bathroom, but other than that, we're basically stuck here."

"I'll go get some." Jo offered as she grabbed her purse and quickly strode to the front door.

"Wait up, I'll come too." Camille agreed and Stephanie quickly went with her as the three left the room.

"Well, I think that this detention is going to be really interesting." Stephanie commented as she led Jo and Camille out of the room to get some food from the vending machine. "I mean, we're already starting to get to know each other so well." She sounded sarcastic. "Kendall has a bad relationship with his dad, WayneWayne is as big a jerk as we always thought, and everyone else…" she trailed off her sentence, not sure what else to say.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Camille asked her, furrowing her eyebrows together. "To get to know each other so we can all be friends and to make the guys' first year at CABS more comfortable?"

Jo stayed quiet.

_Yeah, but it just proves that as we're teenagers, we've all got some things to hide. _Stephanie thought to herself.

* * *

**A/N: So I wanted to get a little more into some of the teenage problems that people have, and the only way I could think of doing that…was by getting a bunch of them stuck together in the same room. And how was I going to do that? Of course, detention, and I wasn't going to bore you by having it show them in detention all day, so I just got to the point of it. Now I hope that you guys liked this chapter and I hope that you guys thought that some of this was realistic (IE Katie's crush on Dak and some of the other things.**

**Let me know what you guys thought of the chapter. It's not one of my favorite ones that I have written so far, but I think that it held a realistic teenage tone to it at the same time and that's what we're really trying to achieve here (as well as putting humor into it.) I don't feel that much happened, but at the same time, I feel that a lot happened with all of them, so that's why I'm kind of iffy about it.**

**Cheers,**

**-Riles**


	17. Chapter 17: Big Time Katie

**~Chapter 17 – Big Time Katie~**

* * *

"Parallel lines 'a' and 'b', cut by transversal 'c' become system 'one'…"

Katie stared at the front of the room as the teacher droned on and on about…whatever the hell they were talking about. She couldn't concentrate. Knowing that her mother was on campus, working as a teacher, wasn't really sitting well with her.

She had to admit she was homesick and whenever she heard her mother's voice on the other end of the phone line she wanted to burst into tears right then and there and beg her mother to take her home. It wasn't that she really wanted to go home it's just that she missed everything about Minnesota and knowing that she always had her mom waiting for her at home.

To Kendall, when they met up with their mom at CABS, he wasn't sure how to take the news, and it wasn't long until he went into his 'I'm-a-big-boy-I-don't-need-my-mommy-following-me-everywhere' spiel. Deep down, Katie could tell he was secretly ecstatic about it.

_'So, what do you think mom's here for big brother?" Katie asked as Kendall finally came out of the detention room at the end of the school day. She handed him a stack of books. "Lucky for you I was able to get all of your school work for ya." She then made a face, crossing her arms over her chest. "Man, I'm happy to know I don't have as much homework as you."_

_"No idea, baby sister," Kendall replied, sliding his school books into his backpack, before shouldering them. He then put his hands on her shoulders, steering her down the hall. "And thanks, and you're not going to feel that way after a while. Don't forget you'll eventually become an upper classman as well."_

_"And will I be just as immature as you guys are?" Katie asked with a smirk as she tilted her head up to look at her brother. Kendall clicked his tongue, shoving her forward. "Just kidding. Mom wants us to meet her in Ronan's office."_

_"Lead the way, baby sister," Kendall offered, sweeping his arm out to the side. "I hope nothing's wrong; y'know I hope it's not a family emergency or anything."_

_"I was hoping the same thing," Katie commented, frowning. "It couldn't anything bad."_

_"No, no, I'm sure it's not" Kendall shook his head, following her down the hall. "We would've been called to the principal's office or something. Right? I mean, they did that back at our old school."_

_"Maybe mom found out about your all day detention," Katie suggested, before laughing a little bit. "Man, you'd really be in for it. I can picture mom's face now. Way to pick your friends, big brother."_

_"Oh god, I hope that's not it." Kendall's eyes widened at the sudden thought of it. "And they're your friends too!"_

_Their mom was the type that could give you space whenever you wanted it, but was always there for you whenever you needed advice. She was also the kind that would teat any of her kids' friends as if they were her own (case and point, James, Carlos, and Logan) and then turn around a split second later and go all Mama Bear protective over any of them._

_"Well, we might as well get this over with," Katie sighed heavily, putting her hand on the doorknob, twisting it open. She knocked softly, poking her head in before making her way into the room. She grinned from ear to ear as soon as she spotted her mom sitting in a chair at the front of the room. "Mom!"_

_"Hey, mom." Kendall counted help but smile from ear to ear as he opened his arms to give her a hug. He smiled when he breathed in her familiar floral scent, tightly squeezing her. He really missed her. "What are you doing here?"_

_"Who died?" Kendall immediately demanded, eyes wide. Mrs. Knight laughed and it quickly relaxed him, allowing him to let out a breath of air._

_"Well, I would be lying if I didn't tell you that I missed you guys," Mrs. Knight replied, brushing her hair behind her ears. "Oh, it's so good to see you."_

_"We've barely been gone two weeks mom," Katie replied, sliding into a seat, dropping her bag to the floor. Kendall silently did so as well. "We got your text."_

_"So, now you know why I'm here," Mrs. Knight replied with a smile. She then motioned over to Ronan who was sitting at his desk shuffling through papers. He looked up and gave the two teenagers a small smile. "Mr. McGuire-"_

_"Ronan," Ronan immediately corrected Mrs. Knight, setting his papers aside. "Please just call me, Ronan."_

_"Right, well, he offered me a job as his teaching assistant," Mrs. Knight replied, clasping her hands together in her lap, smiling with excitement. "So, I can be closer to you guys and I don't have to worry about how you're doing and what's going on in your lives."_

_"How do you even know each other?" Kendall asked, looking back and forth between the two adults._

_"I met her at the local coffee shop earlier today when I was on my break," Ronan replied, sliding the cross pendant on his necklace back and forth on its chain. "We talked for a little while, found out that I knew the two of you, and I suggested that she help me with my business classes."_

_Katie's jaw dropped a fraction. "I'm in your business class," she commented. She then glanced over at her mom. "Not that I don't want you here. I've missed you a lot, mom. It's just…weird. You've never taught anything before."_

_Ronan cleared his throat. "Well, seeing as she's a single mother, she really knows how to work with managing money and she could really help me out," he explained._

_"You're a single parent, aren't you?" Kendall asked, suddenly finding his voice, turning a confused look over to Ronan. "Of the Jacksons. Surely, you must know how to do that." Ronan looked uncomfortably and started sliding the cross faster. Kendall licked his lips and turned back to face his mom. "Mom, did you think all of this through? I mean, what about the house?"_

_"Joanna, Brooke, and Sylvia are taking care of things back home, don't worry," Mrs. Knight replied, giving her kids a smile. "I missed you guys. A lot."_

_"We miss you too, mom," Katie replied, placing her small hand on top of her' mom's, gently squeezing it. She peered into her mom's eyes. _

_"You said you'd be ok with us leaving," Kendall commented. "I mean, we called you every day. Don't you think you're jumping into this?" Kendall caught the look of hurt that quickly flashed over her mom's face. He sighed, rubbing his temples. _

_"I love you mom, and I'm glad you're here. But this is the chance for you to go out and learn about yourself. What you like to do, what you don't like to do. You could pick up a hobby or__—__" Kendall trailed off and licked his lips again. "date. Find someone that makes you happy."_

_"Kendall, Katie," Mrs. Knight looked at the two of them, making sure she held their attention before continuing. "James, Carlos, and Logan's moms have done a great job taking care of their boys. But, they had someone to help them. They don't have to return to an empty house. They have great jobs and I'm proud of them. But with the recession and my losing my job, my new job was taking care of you and your friends the best I can."_

_"I was returning to an empty house and I felt like something was missing. That's why I came out here. And who knows, maybe this job can lead into another profession somewhere down the line. And we need the money. I don't want to have to have Kendall take a job again."_

_"I enjoyed working at the grocery store, mom," Kendall commented. Katie snorted and Kendall rolled his eyes. "Not all the time, but I did like it. I didn't mind helping you out with the bills and everything."_

_"You shouldn't have to do that," Mrs. Knight shook her head. "Kendall, you've been working since you were twelve, doing anything you could to bring home money."_

_"Well, dad__—__"_

_"This is my decision and its final," Mrs. Knight said in a firm tone, putting her hands up in the air. "I already worked out everything with the moms back home. Ronan and I are going to go to talk to the principal. If this all works out, I can start getting hands on experience and paying back the loan to send you here. Alright?"_

_"Ok," Katie said with a nod. _

_She knew not to talk back to her mom at this point. It was clear to her that her mom had their best interests at heart and everything she had said weighed heavily on her. Sometimes it made her feel like she was burden to her mother, but she always knew that her mom was just doing everything out of love. She's never respected or loved her mom more._

"But _notice_ that 'a' and 'b' are cut by a line _perpendicular_ to them, but _also parallel _to transversal 'c'…"

Katie shook her head, trying to keep her attention, but everything her teacher was saying just flew over her head. She couldn't concentrate no matter how hard she tried. And it didn't help that Park and Sol were playing a game of paper football next to her.

Noah was staring intently at the board, chewing on his pen, while Patrick had his foot up on the desk, rocking back and forth on the back two legs of his chair, tapping his pen against his teeth. The noises weren't helping her concentrate at all.

"Parallel lines 'a' and 'b', cut by transversal 'd' make up system 'two'…"

'_God, this is making no sense_!' Katie sighed heavily, running her hands over her face. She knew why she wasn't able to pay attention to everything. She was worried about her mom. '_She must've really missed us to have packed up everything and moved out here to teach. But she just did things too quickly_.'

"Don't let the parallels and perpendicularities fool you guys! They can be quite _tricky_!"

'_How did gum get on the ceiling? Jesus. It's all on the underside of my desk, too. That's so gross_' Katie thought, her mind wandering from topic to topic. She sighed heavily, propping her cheek up with her hand. "God, this is so boring."

"Mrs. _Knight_. What is angle _three_?"

Katie cursed under her breath as her math teacher focused his attention on her. She shifted in her seat, glancing at the board. She couldn't make heads or tails of it. She could feel everybody in the room turning to look at her as the silence fell across the room. "It's an alternate interior, sir."

"_Wrong_, but nice try. Anyone else?"

Katie frowned, watching as her teacher's egotistical smile got wider as a second person got the answer wrong. She hated people like that; people that loved everyone else that didn't know anything. She sighed, shaking her head, her pig tails lightly whipping her in the face. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Noah raised his hand in the air, sucking on his pen.

"Yes, Mr. McGuire? Do you know the answer?"

"It's Jackson," Patrick informed in his thick accent, his eyebrows dropping down as he frowned.

"Do you know the answer?" their teacher repeated, an edge to his tone. Noah removed the pen from his mouth.

"It's a corresponding angle," he replied in his quiet voice. Katie could barely hear the accent in his voice. "Corresponding angles are formed when a given transversal line crosses two parallel lines. The corresponding angles are _not_ necessarily congruent, but they are if the coplanar lines are also parallel."

"Correct, _Mr. Jackson_. Perhaps you could help Mrs. Knight with angles before the quiz next week."

Katie blushed, glancing over at Noah. He glanced back at her, holding his pen between his teeth. He used his tongue to bob it up and down. He turned his attention back to the teacher and raised an lowered a shoulder, showing indifference.

Patrick grinned, punching his fist into Noah's right shoulder blade. Noah swung back his foot, catching Patrick in the knee. That didn't make Katie feel better whatsoever. '_He could at least look excited about it._'

"Good."

'_I hate math_.'

* * *

Katie sighed as she turned away from the food line, looking around at the quickly filling tables of the cafeteria. People shuffled past her, talking excitedly, heading towards tables filled with their friends. She made her way over to the drink machine, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.

'_I must look like a dork, not having anyone to sit with_' she thought with a frown, setting down her tray, shifting her backpack. She grabbed a cup and glanced at the many rows of possible drink choices, trying to stall herself. She sighed.

She would sit with Kendall, James, Carlos, and Logan but they had gone off campus with Camille, Jo, Stephanie, Riley, and Rhuben to get lunch at a local restaurant in town. Patrick, Noah, Park, and Sol were having lunch with their soccer friends, and Sydney was spending the rest of his day at his brother's apartment. Who knew where WayneWayne and Dak were; not that she considered WayneWayne a friend. She didn't like how he treated her brothers and everyone else. He just rubbed her the wrong way.

"Could you hurry it up? Pick something!" a girl practically shouted into Katie's ear. "Gosh, you freshmen are all the same. Move!" She brushed past Katie and filled her cup with Coca-Cola before hurrying off to join her friends.

Katie sighed again, choosing on orange juice. She set her cup on her tray, and moved to find an empty table. She slowly made her way through the maze of tables before she found a familiar face and happily made her way over to the table, practically throwing herself into the seat.

Dak jumped at the sudden movement but smiled when he spotted Katie. "Hey, how's it going?" he asked, giving her a warm smile, closing his laptop to give her his full attention. He blinked, glancing at her. "Are you ok?"

"Uh, yeah," Katie replied, blushing in embarrassment. '_Geeze, Katie, you're such a dork. You pretty much threw yourself at him!_' She cracked a smile. "Um, I just don't like sitting by myself so…is it ok if I sit here?"

"Of course," Dak replied with a nod. "But, you seemed alright sitting by yourself yesterday."

"I had my iPod yesterday," Katie replied before she grabbed the salt shaker and started dumping it onto her friends. "I don't get so self-conscious when I have music to block everything out."

"Yes, but in turn you'd be stopping people from talking to you as well," Dak replied, tilting his head to the side. "But, I understand how you're feeling. I was exactly the same way when I first came here."

"_You_?" Katie shot in a look of disbelief. "The _teen icon_."

"Hey, the teen icon wants to fit in just as much as the next person," Dak shot back, arching an eyebrow. "Like I said before, you're always welcome to sit with us." He laughed a little bit. "You just kinda picked a bad day for it. Kendall is-"

"I know, he sent me a text," Katie replied, popping a French fry into her mouth. "But, you're on the soccer team, why aren't you eating with them?"

"Because I took Lizzie out for lunch today," Dak replied, reaching for his cup of soda. "I do it every Thursday; it's kinda like our ritual."

"That's nice of you," Katie replied, finding new respect for the teen icon. She was also surprised that she could talk so easily with him. She couldn't really do that with anyone else except for Kendall and his friends but that's only because she's known them for pretty much her whole life.

"Do you and Kendall do stuff like that?" Dak asked as he started to cut into the piece of brisket that sat on his plate. "You guys seem really close."

"We are, but not like that," Katie replied, waving her hand in the air. "I mean, he doesn't get embarrassed whenever I say 'hi' to him in the halls or give him a hug or something and he always lets me hang out with his friends, and he always looks out for me." She put a few French fries in her mouth and rapidly chewed it before swallowing it with her orange juice. Dak waited patiently for her to be able to talk again. "He makes sure that I'm always entertained and not feeling left out or anything when his friends are over. And we do stuff together every now and then, so it's not too bad. But, I'd like to have something like that."

"You should try suggesting it to him," Dak suggested with a simple shrug. "I'm sure he'd be all for it, especially with you guys going to school as big as this. It'll be a way for you guys to catch up with each other during the week or something." He shrugged again. "So, how was your day? Done with classes."

"Yeah," Katie replied before sighing. "I've got a ton of math homework and it's on stuff I don't understand."

"You're a freshman, so you're in Geometry right?" Dak asked, raising an eyebrow. "I think I can help." Katie raised an eyebrow in return. "Just because I'm famous doesn't mean I'm not good in school. Sure, I was doing a Broadway show in my freshman year, but I was great at math."

"…Ok," Katie said after a moment of silence. "We're going over angles and stuff with parallel lines and all that."

She grabbed her math book out of her backpack and opened it on the table, flipping through the pages until she found where they stopped in class. She pushed her plates to the side as Dak moved his chair to sit next to her. She was aware of his warm breath tickling her cheek as he looked over the page.

Katie started to blush, feeling the heat radiate off his body, before tucking a loose lock of her hair behind her ear. She started to itch as she felt many pairs of eyes bore into her back, side, and front, but she didn't dare look back at them.

"Oh yeah, I remember this," Dak commented, his eyes lighting up. "I understand where you'd have a problem with it. Mr. Smith isn't the best with teaching math here. I took an advanced math class with him once, and I barely passed."

Katie licked her lips. "I, um, I just don't get any of it."

"Ok," Dak replied with a shrug before pointing at a spot in the book before he started to explain it to her.

Katie zoned out after a while, paying more attention to how close in proximity he was to her, how his voice sounded, how his green eyes lit up with excitement and how he smiled whenever she got something right.

"So when you have angles that are the same whether in degrees or radians they're congruent…get it?" Dak asked, using the tip of his fork to point at the equation on in the book. Katie just stared at the problem before looking back at him. "What?"

"I just don't get how _you_ can understand all this and _I_ can't!" She said dramatically. She rolled her eyes when she saw the smirk on his face. She easily recognized it from the look he always gave Rhuben whenever he flirted with her. '_Wait, does that mean he's flirting with me?'_

"Obviously you don't give me enough credit…I'm not just good with the ladies," he replied.

Katie chuckled before she looked down at the page in the book, her eyebrows bunching together in confusion before she gave up and looked at Dak again. "Can you explain it again?" Dak raised his eyebrows. "Please! Just one more time."

She gave him a pleading look and mouthed the word please. She stuck out her bottom lip for added measure, knowing he couldn't say no to her famous puppy dog pout. No one could say 'no' to it. It was able to get her a lot of things over the years. And with the way she widened her brown eyes to go along with it helped with the overall affect.

"Ok, ok, just stop it with the puppy dog pout," Dak laughed, raising his eyebrows. "Man, you're just like Lizzie. She does that to me all the time."

"Apparently, it works," Katie replied with a wide, toothy, grin.

Dak started explaining the simplification processes of exponents to her, but everything he said blew right by her. She rested her head on her hand, which was being supported by her elbow and just stared at him. He looked so cute when he was deep in thought, bending over his paper, his hair falling over his eyes. She resisted the urge to push it back for him and instead choose to concentrate on what he was explaining.

'_Whoa, Katie! Calm down! Where did that come from?_' she thought, with a small head shake.

She felt weird. She couldn't deny that boys were starting to be cute to her now, but she hadn't been around anybody that made her feel like _that_. She did get self-conscious around Park, Sol, Patrick, and Noah, but she hadn't been around them long enough to see if feelings like…_that_ would ever come about.

She tore her gaze from him and onto her book as she tried to pay attention. He stopped talking and looked at her with an eyebrow raised, "Get it now?"

"Uh, yeah," she replied, trying to give him a confident smile.

He could see right through her. He was well aware of her staring at him. A lot of girls did and he had gotten used to it pretty quickly at the school. But the whole school experience was what helped him stay grounded and not let all the fame go to his head. But, he didn't want to be mean and call her out on it.

"Ok…" He said skeptically, "Do number 3."

Katie glanced down at the problem. The numbers seemed to blend together and swirl around on the page. After staring at the paper for what seemed like forever she let out a loud sigh. "I don't get it!" Dak laughed. "What?"

"Nothing," Dak replied with a shrug. "I think you just need to concentrate on this and you'll get it. And you need to relax. You're so worried about getting it wrong that it's the only thing in your mind. I say go back to it later."

"Thanks for trying to teach me," Katie said in defeat as she loudly closed her math book with one hand.

"No problem," Dak replied cheerfully before he went back to his lunch. The two of them sat in silence except for the little random bits of conversation they had here and there. "Well, I have to go back to my room and do some homework before soccer practice. So, I'll see you later."

"Right…Bye," Katie replied, giving a small smile.

"Bye," Dak smiled, sliding his backpack onto one shoulder before carrying his tray of dirty plates to the tray drop off conveyor belt.

Katie reached for her cup of orange juice and spotted a group of girls staring at her from across the room. They were leaning into each other, their eyes on her, whispering, and pointing. Katie quickly downed the rest of her drink, bowing her head.

'_What's their problem_?'

* * *

**So this I wanted to focus more on Katie and how she was feeling about her mom being at the school and her growing feelings towards Dak. Hope you guys liked this chapter and sorry for the wait. Big Time Australia will be updated again soon!**

**Cheers,**

**-Rhubes**


	18. Chapter 18: Big Time Carlos

**.:Chapter 18 – Big Time Carlos:.**

* * *

"Carlos, how do you always seem to make us late to class?" Logan puffed as he, Kendall, Logan, and Carlos sprinted to their classroom in Presser Hall. "Especially since we have to perform today, you know how nervous I am."

"Sorry," Carlos rolled his eyes. "I couldn't my helmet." He reached out and smacked Logan on the back of the head. "Besides, it doesn't matter whether or not you're nervous, you're going to screw it up anyway." He laughed and ducked out of the way as Logan let out a yell and jumped to knock him to the ground. Fortunately for Carlos, James and Kendall managed to grab him and pulled him back out of the way.

"Carlos, don't freak Logan out more than he already is." Kendall chided a stern expression on his face. "You don't want him to pass out gain do you?"

"I don't know," Carlos replied honestly as he stopped walking and looked thoughtful. "The thud he made when he hit the ground was a pretty cool sound." He laughed as James gave him a high-five in agreement. Kendall chuckled to himself and Logan just glared at the three of them.

"Fine, make fun of the one that just has to be the one that worries the most." Logan stuck his tongue out at Carlos, who just smiled and stuck his tongue back out at him.

'_It's not my fault that Logan is the easiest one to tease._' Carlos smile to himself as he started to trail off behind his friends, following them as they continued to hurry to Presser Hall. '_But I guess it is my fault for not being able to help but tease him about everything and anything when I get the chance._' Carlos held a peaceful expression on his face as he and his friends continued to navigate CABS's campus.

'_This is probably one of the best schools that I have ever gone to._' Carlos thought to himself as he looked around at all of the palm trees and the students that were milling around campus. Everyone that he passed gave him a bright smile and a wave, even the seniors, whom he had heard harassed almost everyone that was younger than them, were being nice to him. '_Everyone is so nice here, the weather is great, and the classes are really cool. Even the weather is so much better than whatever it is back in Minnesota. Too bad my family couldn't come out here.'_

Carlos, being part Dominican, Venezuelan, and Spanish, is a huge family person. He enjoys cooking and cleaning with his mother (how he acts you would never think that Carlos can be clean) and hanging out and going crazy with his dad. He has many aunts, uncles, and cousins and loves to spend time with them any chance they get. Back in Minnesota with every holiday that their family could think of, everyone in the family would go over to a relative's house and eat and hang out and laugh all night long. Sometimes James, Logan, and Kendall would hang with his family and even they agreed that his family is the liveliest family that they have ever seen.

Now being in California and going to a boarding school, where he could only talk to his mother and father over video chat and over his phone, Carlos has had many bouts of being home-sick. '_If I was t home right now, I would be going to my classes, then go to hockey practice, then come home and help mom with dinner, only now all I'm doing is going to class and hanging out with my friends, playing hockey, and doing homework. At least it keeps me from getting homesick, and singing isn't that bad._'

"Carlos, are you ok?" Carlos looked up to see that Kendall was walking backwards, looking over his shoulder every now and then to make sure that he didn't fall, but his eyes were trained on Carlos. "You haven't said anything in, like, the past five seconds, what's up?"

"Does there _have_ to be something wrong whenever I don't talk?" Carlos asked as he smiled, already knowing what the answer was.

"Yes." Kendall, Logan, and James harmonized.

"'Cause the last time you didn't talk, it was because you were very sick," James reminded him. "Like, you had to go to the hospital and you didn't say anything because you didn't want to go."

"No, James, _you_ didn't want to go, because you're so afraid of needles." Carlos reminded him. "And I didn't talk because I was always so sleepy and I didn't want to have to take Mami's medicine." He shuddered a little. "Remember the last time I had to take it? I blacked-out half of the third grade because of that stuff."

"Too bad you don't remember anything," Kendall grinned. "You really missed some funny stuff you did."

"Haha," Carlos dead-panned. He pushed his friends aside and started running to the classroom again, racing his friends there. He laughed triumphantly as he reached the classroom first and grabbed the doorknob, pushing the door open and walking in. "I'm here!" He bellowed at the top of his lungs, causing his classmates to laugh. His grin widened when he looked over at the Jennifers to see that they were giggling at him. But his smile faded when, not two seconds later, they turned back to WayneWayne, fawning over him.

'_Oh well_' Carlos shrugged as he went over to his seat. '_I got their attention and Dad always said to command attention when you walk into a room or when you're late._'

"Glad to see that you made it, boys." Duke commented from where he was sitting over on the couch at the other side of the room. "We were just about to get started." His grinned as he continued to walk to the boys. "And since you were late, how about you start us off?"

"Really?" Logan squeaked, his ears turning red at the low laughter that followed after that.

"Why not?" James grinned as he leapt to his feet.

'_Of course he's willing to jump at it._' Carlos thought to himself as he got up from his seat, nervousness settling into his gut. '_He's the one that wanted to become famous and jumped at the chance to come here as soon as Mama Knight talked to us about it. I only came along to give him support! What if I mess up? What if I trip and knock someone over? What if my voice gives out?_'

All of those thoughts whirled through Carlos' head as Kendall told Duke what song they were going to perform and handed him a CD of the backing music they were going to need. Carlos was still freaking out, but as soon as he heard the music coming out of the speakers, he started to smile, easily settling into the music. It was weird, whenever the four of them would sing together, even if it was just for fun, he had a sense of comfort as they did so and he was feeling the same thing now.

There was an instrumental moment in the song came up, Kendall, Logan, Carlos, and James moved around to some of their classmates, insisting that they come up and dance with them. But they didn't even have to ask, the boys were doing much better than they thought. Sure there were a few things that they could work on, but everyone could see the enthusiasm they put into the song.

They went through the chorus of the song a few more times, and ended to roaring applause from the classroom. Their friends congratulated them as they waited for Duke to give them their grade.

"That was so good you guys!" Jo gushed as she patted Carlos on the shoulder. "You must have worked really hard."

"Yeah, because that wasn't nearly as horrible as the first time you sang together." Riley commented, nodding her approval. "Good job."

"Tact, look it up." Dak commented towards her.

"I was being tactful," Riley replied carelessly. "You don't want to know what I was thinking."

"It was really bonzer," Rhuben broke in. "Don't listen to anyone when they say that you can't sing or perform." She had a mysterious look in her eyes as she turned to Dak and Riley. "You have a lot of potential." They nodded in agreement.

Behind them, WayneWayne, who was one of the only few people that didn't get up to join them made a tsking sound. "It wasn't that great." He mumbled under his breath.

'_Ha_' Carlos thought to himself as he grinned. '_He so knows that we did a good job. Now all that matters, is how well Duke think that we did._' With that thought, he turned to Duke as did his friends. Duke was sitting on the edge of a table, his arms still crossed over his chest, but he had a hint of a smile on his otherwise apathetic face. "Well, how'd we do?"

"Have you guys ever sung before?" Duke questioned.

"Well, Kendall sings all the time at work, at least that's what Katie says," Logan replied quickly. "James sings all the time and Carlos and I…well…" he paused, thinking of what he was trying to say. "We're not the greatest at it."

"Yeah, I think everyone noticed that." WayneWayne said, not being able to help himself, he always had to get an insult him.

"No, I mean, have you all ever sung together before?" Duke asked, his smile widening ever so slightly.

"No, we haven't." James shook his head rapidly.

'_So what does that mean? Does that mean that he hated us? That we should just stop right here and now? Kiss James' dreams goodbye?_' Carlos' minds raced with those thoughts as he and his best friends held their breath.

Duke then gave a full-blown smile. "I haven't seen a group of friends who hadn't sung before; give it the best that they could as well as showing how much fun they were having in one song before." He started to clap. "I give you props for that. But" his lips twitched. "There were a few times that you were off beat, either too slow or too fast, and there a few times, James, where you over-worked some of the simple melodies, which is what I'll be helping you guys on for the rest of the year. So I'm going to give you guys a B+"

"Awesome!" Carlos punched is fists into the air. "My first B!"

The class laughed as they clapped and cheered for the four boys as they took a bow and went back to their seats. Carlos felt that he was on top of the world, he and his best friends had done a really good job, had gotten a B+, and now he had a better appreciation for music. He looked around the room and his eyes landed on WayneWayne and Jennifer 2.

He watched from afar, just watched, didn't speak, didn't listen, barely moved. He watched as WayneWayne's eyes would snap back onto her whenever she would make any noise; he watched how she would smile whenever he looked at her. Carlos continued to watch them for what seemed like eternity, he was thankful when Logan asked him a question about something. (He wasn't paying that close attention.) Carlos forced himself to keep my eyes away from WayneWayne and the Jennifers; instead he tried to start conversation with Logan. Try being the keyword. Logan was going on and on about something about music, either way Carlos became bored of his babbling and put on his famous "I-So-very-intrigued-by-what-your-saying" face.

"Ok, Riley, Rhuben, would you like to go next?" Duke asked, moving his large grade book off to the side and looked at the twin girls. "I understand that you're having your brothers help you for this?" He raised his eyebrows. "Were they able to get permission to get out of class?"

"Definitely," Rhuben replied with a grin as she got up and walked over to the classroom door. "They wouldn't miss a chance to skip class."

Riley laughed quietly, brushing her hair out of her face as Rhuben opened the door and called their brothers in from the hallway. As they trooped in, she cleared her throat and addressed the class. "Today we're going to be performing our cover of the famous Go-Gos song Vacation." She gave a short bow as Sydney went over to Duke and handed him a CD.

"Vacation, all I ever wanted. Vacation, had to get away. Vacation, meant to be spent alone." Riley and Rhuben harmonized as the music started, lightly bobbing their legs to the beat of the music.

"I still can't get over how good they are." Logan stated, shaking his head as he clapped along with the class.

"They've been doing this for years, Logan; it's like breathing to them." Kendall replied.

"Yeah, but eventually you get tired of doing what you do." Jo commented, causing the four boys to turn to her. She looked a little concerned. "They didn't look as happy about it as they usually do." She shrugged her shoulders. "But they might just be having a bad day."

* * *

Carlos saw them laugh. Was it at him? He could hardly tell.

He didn't want to do it again. But he knew that there was something different about all of them, something that was so different about those three girls that he was drawn to them. He couldn't help it; they were like a drug to him. A forbidden drug.

He popped his iPod ear buds in, and turned the track to Revenga by System of a Down. Slowly, he brought himself to walk away, not looking back at the three girls. He had gone out on a limb, taken a risk.

"Oh, shut up," Carlos growled at his iPod player, angrily switching it off. Stuffing it into the pocket of his jeans, I sighed.

Risks were never worth the taking.

But he wasn't going to stop.

* * *

**A/N: And that's what's going on with Carlos, our hyper-active, loveable, sensitive guy from Big Time Rush. If they weren't the same age on the show, I would say that Carlos was the youngest out of all of them, but whatever. A little more about his obsession with the Jennifers as well as a little bit of Stephanie's interested in Carlos. Since they had to do an upbeat song for their class that day, I decided to make it that BTR performed Dance, Dance, Dance like they did in Big Time Beach Party. I don't think there is a song that is as upbeat as that. (Plus I love it so much). :D. Sorry it took so long for me to get the chapter up. I hope you liked it and it will be updated again soon.**

**Cheers,**

**-Riles**


	19. Chapter 19: Big Time Dak

**~Chapter 19 – Big Time Dak~**

* * *

People say you do crazy things when you're in love. Well, if that's the case, then Dak had just gotten out of, what the Jacksons would call, the Funny Farm.

It was his love for acting, singing, and dancing which made him come up with the idea of leaving school when he was 8 years old to pursue it full time. And it paid off as well. Before he knew it, Dak Zevon was making a name for himself as Gavroche in the Broadway production of _Les Miserables_. As everyone says, that one role changed his life forever.

Play after play, movie role after movie role, his fame and fan base grew faster then he could ever imagine. By the time he was 15, he acting full time flying back and forth between New York and California practically every month. But he loved every minute of it. Everything was a new adventure for him, a new character, a new role he got to perform, trying to show how diverse he was.

But, luckily, he was able to stay grounded with the help of his family. He would often fly his mom, dad, and sister, Lizzie, out to the sets he worked on or into the studio whenever he was recording music and would do everything he could to help out with charities and people in need. He had a close bond with his sister and while it was getting harder for him to see her all the time, he made sure to keep his promises about when he was going to call or write to her.

But soon she caught the media bug as well and aspired to be a dancer. And that wouldn't have happened if A; he had never met the Jacksons and B; Rhuben had never held a dancing seminar at her school. Ever since then all Lizzie talked about was dance this and dance that. With her being her parents only daughter, it took her a while to convince her parents to allow her to go to a Dance Academy. But, she's loved every moment as well. She loved dancing and did as much as she could for it.

And everyone knew that Dak was crazy about Rhuben Jackson-McGuire. All you had to do was open up any celebrity magazine and you would know that as long as there was something mentioned about Dak Zevon in it, there would be something about Rhuben Jackson as well. Rumors had been going around for years that there was something going on between the two of them (courtesy of her agreeing to be his date to a movie premiere) that they weren't willing to admit.

The only problem was that he was never himself around her. He couldn't figure out why that was, but he always found himself coming on too strong, flirting constantly with her, trying to win her over. According to him, his mind went to mush even if all she did was step into the room. When asked, he has always stated that there wasn't one single thing he didn't like about her. And he's also told her that many times as well, but he hadn't really made any leeway with it at all.

Normally, someone would find that frustrating, but Dak wasn't the type to give up on anything. Much like how all the girls at the school, or what felt like it, wanted to be his date to Homecoming that year. It wasn't even for a good month and a half and he was already getting invites. But, as usual, he was only planning on going with one person. But this year, he knew he would have her on his arm.

"_Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic liturgical music within Western Christianity that_ blah, blah, blah," Dak read aloud, rolling his eyes. He loved music as much as the next person but this was just boring. He rubbed his eyes and looked around the library, sighing heavily before glancing at his watch. '_Why do we have to spend class time in here? I'd rather read in my room_!'

"I hope those aren't the words to your next song," a voice, filled with laughter, stated from behind him.

Dak turned in his seat and smiled at the blonde haired girl that stood behind him. He noticed immediately that she looked nervous and she was shifting her weight from foot to foot. He knew immediately what she was there for.

"That'd be a bomb of a song wouldn't it," he commented with a short laugh, before motioning to the seat next to him. "Hi, I'm Dak."

"I know who you are," the girl replied with a small giggle. "I'm Macy."

"It's nice to meet you," Dak replied with a short nod.

Macy nodded and started twisting a lock of her hair around her finger, biting her lower lip. She let out another giggle before clearing her throat, her face turning bright red. "So, uh, Dak…I was wondering if…um, well I was thinking that…um, maybe you and me could…go to Homecoming together?"

"Uh." Dak hated this part. Every year he had to deal with it. He had to turn down so many nice looking, and just over all nice, girls to Homecoming just because he was always holding out, waiting to ask Rhuben. "Macy, I would love to, but I already have this girl in mind that I'd like to ask."

"Oh, right," Macy nodded. "I bet you get asked a lot anyway."

"Kind of," Dak admitted with a small smile. "Sorry."

"No, no, it's ok." Macy started twisting her hair faster. "Want to do something this weekend?"

"I can't, I already have plans," Dak replied, tapping his thumbs on his book. He gave another apologetic smile and turned back to his book. He was well aware that Macy was still sitting next to him. Normally at that point, people would leave.

"Oh? What are you doing?" she asked.

Dak blinked. "Stuff."

"The whole weekend?"

"Yep."

"So, uh, what kind of stuff?"

'_She's not going to take the hint is she_?' Dak thought, with a frown. He didn't respond to her. This was also something he hated about being famous. People just wouldn't take no for an answer. And he didn't know if people were interested in him for him or just because of his fame.

"What kind of stuff?" Macy repeated.

"Studio work, meeting producers, visiting my family, hanging out with friends," Dak listed off. "Stuff like that."

"Ok, then how about next weekend?" Macy briefly closed her eyes. "We could go out then."

"Soccer tournament," Dak replied before glancing towards the library doors as they burst open and WayneWayne stormed in. Dak let out a sigh of relief as his friend spotted him and made his way over. '_He looks upset about something_. _Then again, when doesn't he_?' "Hey, man."

"Hey," WayneWayne muttered. He stopped when he spotted Macy sitting next to Dak. "Am I interrupting something?"

"We were just talking," Macy replied before turning back to Dak, brushing her hair behind her ear. "Are you really that busy?"

"I am," Dak replied with a nod. He sighed as Macy got up from the chair and flounced off, bright red. "What's up with you?" Dak asked WayneWayne as he dropped into the seat across from him. Dak moved his books to make room for WayneWayne's backpack as he dropped it onto the table with a loud clunk. "Was hockey practice that bad?"

"Kendork is better than I thought," WayneWayne grumbled as he started pulling out his books. "It's no wonder coach made him captain the first day."

"Yeah, but you're good too," Dak calmly replied.

"He just rubs me the wrong way, man," WayneWayne growled before dropping his forehead onto the table letting out a loud sigh. "I'm so tired. I barely got any sleep last night thanks to you."

"What'd I do?" Dak asked, raising his eyebrows.

WayneWayne chuckled as he lifted his head. "Well, thanks to you being the _teen icon_ I can't go five feet without someone stopping me to ask if I'm really friends with you." He had an amused smile on his face. "I'm sure you saw the shattered phone sitting by the TV this morning. You've gotten so many invites to Homecoming this morning." He then started laughing. "Luckily, this gave me an excuse to work on my accents."

"Sorry," Dak replied, cringing. "Have you thought about going?"

"Dances aren't my thing," WayneWayne immediately replied, wrinkling his nose. "I went to one dance, had a horrible time, and said I'd never go to another one."

"At least consider it," Dak replied, flipping through the pages of his science book. "School dances are pretty crazy here, in a good way." He then peered at his friend. "You could ask Riley to go with you."

"I don't think so," WayneWayne immediately replied.

"Why?" Dak asked, raising his eyebrows. "I mean, you like her, right?"

WayneWayne nodded. "She's a girl!"

"Yes… very good, dude, you get a prize!" Dak said sarcastically. "Anyone with eyes can she that she's a girl." When WayneWayne didn't reply, Dak narrowed his eyes at him.

"She's rude."

Dak stayed silent.

"I don't like her?"

He shook his head.

"I don't know."

"That's more like it. You don't have a reason not to ask her," Dak replied, leaning back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. "Actually, you do. You're intimidated. You've never met anyone who can be as jerky as you can."

"I am not!" WayneWayne yelled quickly.

"Yes you are," Dak calmly replied, blinking at the loud outburst. "Because she's so much like you, you're scared she's going to say no. Or worse, she'll go with James!"

"I am not!"

"You are!" Dak was laughing now. "It's not the end of the world if she says no. And honestly, I'm not even sure if she is interested in James. Sure, she's attracted to arrogant people, don't ask me why, but he's just…_too _full of himself for her." He shook his head. "Don't get me wrong, he seems to be like a nice guy, and this is just going off first impression as I don't really know that guy."

WayneWayne slowly shook his head back and forth. "You don't know anything."

"I think I know more than you do."

"You're not right."

"Yes I am, and you know it too."

"Fuck you," WayneWayne lamely replied and Dak grinned. "So, I heard there's a party going on tonight at The Red Heat." Dak perked up. Everyone at CABS knew about The Red Heat. It was properly named as the building was pretty warm, but once you had everyone out on the dance floor, it was practically as hot as a sauna. And, you guessed it, the color theme was black and lots and lots of red. "Masquerade Bash; bring your own mask or 5 bucks at the door."

"Ok," Dak replied slowly.

WayneWayne rolled his eyes. "Rhuben's going. Just thought you'd want to know." He then smirked. "I'm surprised she isn't creeped out by how hard you're chasing her."

"Can't help it, man," Dak replied stretching his arms over his head. "Can't help it."

"Can I give you some advice?" WayneWayne then asked, sliding his sunglasses off his face. With that one movement, Dak could tell that his friend was going to say something serious. He shrugged. "Just give up on her." Dak raised his eyebrows. "She's obviously not interested and from what I've heard, you've been chasing after her for years now."

"Not gonan happen," Dak shook his head. "You may call me stubborn or whatever, but I know we could be good together. If I have to wait a long time, then I will. I mean, she knows how I feel, so really it's just up to her to do something about it." He then sighed. "But…I think she _does_ feel the same way, but she's scared."

"Of having her personal life out in the open?" WayneWayne asked, with a snort. "Yeah, who wouldn't be."

"No, not that," Dak shook his head. "I mean…I've known her for years now, but it's taken me so long to be her friend, and less than a month to be friends with Camille, Stephanie, and Jo. Same with Riles. I don't think they trust guys all that much."

"Well, I can see why," WayneWayne joked. "We're guys; we're stupid! We're jerks! We, well most guys, only want sex."

"I'm being serious, man." Dak shook his head. "Maybe she dated more jerks before Ace, I don't know. It's just weird."

"I'm just trying to lighten the mood," WayneWayne gave an apologetic look. "But, I get what you mean. At Carlos's party, they seemed to be on edge when Ace came. Sure, he's the biggest dickwad I've ever met, Riley….she seemed, I don't know, scared of him."

"Exactly," Dak replied with a nod. He then waved his hand in the air. "Anyway, just ask her to the dance. If she says 'Yes' great, if she says 'No', then it's not the end of the world." He shrugged. "The worst thing she could do is laugh."

"Yeah," WayneWayne agreed. "But knowing her, she _will_ laugh." Dak frowned. He had to admit that there was a pretty good chance that that could happen. But, he also knew Riley. Sure, she could be mean, but she's also a great person and she looks out for her friends. "See, even you know she would." He shook his head. "Face it, we're going after the two most unobtainable people ever."

"Yeah, but I bet I could get Rhuben to go with me," Dak replied, tapping his pen against his book.

WayneWayne's eyebrows raised as a challenging look on his face. "Did I detect the word 'bet' in that sentence Dak Zevon?"

"Yes, yes you did," Dak replied.

"Well then, let's make this interesting," WayneWayne replied, rubbing his hands together. "I bet you that I can get Riley to agree to go to Homecoming with me before you can get Rhuben to agree to go with you."

"What's the prize?" Dak asked, raising his eyebrows.

WayneWayne pursed his lips as he thought about it. "Winner gets…damn. It has to be something good."

"Just make sure it's nothing that they'll get mad over," Dak commented with a small frown. "You've never really seen them that mad before."

"Alright, we can come up with ideas and then agree on something later," WayneWayne replied before offering his hand. "Bet?"

"Bet," Dak grinned, clasping WayneWayne's hand, shaking it.

Now, Dak Zevon wasn't one to really do something as mean as thinking of girls as trophies to be one. But he was crazy in love. She would buy that excuse. At least he hoped.

* * *

**No, you're not seeing things! This story is off of hiatus. Sorry it took so long! We were figuring out how this story was going to go, how long it would be, what important things we'd put in here and stuff like that. So anyway, I wanted to show a little more of Dak's background and his and WayneWayne's friendship. And I wanted to show how he felt about being a teen icon as well.  
**

**Hope you guys liked the chapter!**

**Cheers,**

**Rhubes**

**_Exciting News:_**

**A new BTR fanfic (from Riles) is coming out sometime soon (rumor has it, it might have something to do with the _With Friends Like These_ series)**

**A new BTR fanfic (from me) will be coming at the end of this week! **

**We hope you're excited for it as we are! If you haven't already go check out the fanfics _Live and Let Love_, _Hollow Man_, and _I'm With You_. You won't regret it.**


	20. Chapter 20: Big Time Kendall

**.:Chapter Twenty – Big Time Kendall:.**

* * *

Kendall frowned as he stepped into the Red Heat and Logan, James, and Carlos immediately broke away from him and headed in three different directions. The music was already giving him a headache and he was almost sure that there wasn't going to be a lot to eat that night. Plus, it was already about 90 degrees in the building and it was already packed.

It wasn't that he didn't like dances; it was just that he never really saw the appeal to him. Most of the time they were nothing but drama. He had gone to a few dances while he was back in Minnesota and had dates with a few girls that he had grown up with, but the same thing happened each time. He acted like a gentleman and then the girl would suddenly fall hard for him and he had to turn her down. That got him labeled as a jerk and claimed that he was leading the girl on, which caused him to be shunned by most of the female population, up until the next dance rolled around.

Then there was the kind of drama where a girl would ask a guy to go to a dance with her, but then would spend most of the night in the bathroom or just with her girlfriends and not paying attention to the guy, then they would turn and around and complain that they didn't have a good time because the guy didn't talk or dance with her.

That's what happened to James when he was invited to the Prom with a girl when they were in their freshmen year of high school. But James was still happy about it anyway, as he was one of the only few freshmen that were able to go to the Prom that year. It made him somewhat of a legend with the other freshmen in their class.

But it just made Kendall roll his eyes and go back to the hockey game that he was talking about with some other guys that he had watched over the weekend. When it comes to dances, Kendall would usually skip it to watch or play a hockey game or just hang out with his family.

_When they saw that CABS knows how to party, they weren't joking. This is definitely bigger than any party or dance that I have ever been to and it's not even homecoming yet. _Kendall thought to himself as he looked around, watching as people talked, laughed, ate, and danced. Some waiters were moving through the crowd, passing out food that some of the students had ordered if they didn't want the food that the dance committee had put out.

Kendall scratched his forehead, and ran into the mask that was on his face. _Who even comes up with the idea of masquerade dances? They're always so stupid!_

"Hey Kendall!" Katie grinned as she walked over to her brother, a girl, and four boys trailing along behind her. Patrick, Noah, Park, and Sol didn't bother to wear masks, but they were still dressed up nicely.

"Oh hey Katie," Kendall bent down and gave his sister a hug. "You look great," he then held her an arm's length away and turned her this way and that, inspecting her dress to make sure it wasn't too short, didn't have a plunging neck line, and wasn't too revealing.

Katie rolled her eyes and turned towards the other girl that was with her dressed in a green dress and mask, most likely Lizzie, and mouthed 'brothers'. The other girls just smiled and shook her head in agreement.

"Ok, your dress is fine." Kendall said, giving her the brother stamp of approval.

"Thank you," Katie pretended to huff, straightening out her dress again. "Have you seen Dak?"

"Yeah, he's over there." Kendall pointed over to one of the booths that were lined up against the wall. He was leaning against a booth, his arm over the back of it, and talking to Rhuben.

"Cool, I'm going to thank him for helping me on my homework," Katie said with a smile as she fixed her hair. "I'll see you later, Kendall."

"See you later, Katie." Kendall gave a wave and smiled as his sister went over to Dak, talked to him for a few moments, and then went back to her friends, who stormed the dance floor with whoops and cheers as the song 'YMCA' came over the speakers.

Kendall looked around for his friends and found Logan talking animatedly to Rhuben, and James and Carlos talking to the Jennifers. He made a face as someone behind him suddenly screamed, and pushed them away as they bumped into him. The girl stumbled around, laughing along with her friends, tightly holding onto a red plastic cup that was in her hand. The girl and her friends looked over at Kendall, giggled out an apology, and then shot him a few winks before walking away.

_Can someone tell me why I came here again? _Kendall shoved his hands into his pockets, feeling uncomfortable and annoyed. _Oh yeah, because James threatened me if I didn't come. Who knew that his going on and on about getting a girlfriend by actually socializing would get on my nerves enough to actually come to one of these things?_

Kendall continued to look around, continuing to feel out of place. But then he spotted a girl in a pink dress and a white mask standing across the room, bopping lightly to the beat of the song. If it wasn't for Stephanie, who was standing behind her with her video camera, he wouldn't have been able to figure out that it was Jo. But after taking a second look at her, noticing that she had the same butterfly necklace that Jo had been wearing earlier that day, he knew that it was her.

Kendall felt an involuntary smile slide onto his face as he watched her talk with Stephanie and Camille. He checked his breath, smoothed back his hair, and then walked over to Jo, looking around the dance floor as he went. It wasn't until he was right next to her that he pretended to just notice her.

"Oh, hey, Jo." He greeted. Hearing giggles coming from Camille and Stephanie, he gave them a smile as well. "Hey girls."

"Hey Kendall." Stephanie replied, still giggling.

"Hey," Camille's smile immediately dropped. "Where's Logan?"

Kendall started to point over his shoulder, but Camille just darted off, pushing her way through the crowd. Stephanie burst out laughing now, and waved to Kendall before slowly trailing after her friend. Kendall then directed another smile towards Jo.

"How'd you know it was me?" Jo asked as she pulled her mask off of her face and rested it on her forehead.

"I don't know," Kendall gave a modest shrug as he looked at her dress. "You pegged me as a girl that would like to wear pink, so I took a guess." His smile widened as Jo raised an eyebrow. "Ok, you caught me, it didn't hurt that Stephanie was behind you holding onto her video camera."

"Yeah, that thing is like, glued to her hand." Jo laughed in reply. Kendall laughed and nodded back. There was a pregnant pause. Both of them just continued to smile and look around. "Oh look," Jo caught Kendall's attention and pointed behind him. "There's Riles," she waved and Riley came over to them, dressed up in a black and red uniform.

"Hey guys," Riley greeted with somewhat of a forced smile.

"Hey," Kendall and Jo replied in unison.

"Hey, how come you're not dancing?" Kendall asked trying to start up a conversation, noticing that the only thing she had on that went anywhere near the theme was a mask on her face. If it wasn't for the fact that it was red, he would have easily thought that she was Rhuben.

Riley looked down at her uniform and made a face. "I have to work; I skipped a day last week because I had some stuff in the studio I needed to get done and today was the only day that I could get the hours in." She let out a sigh. "It sucks. I would rather be dancing to this horrible music than working. But it pays."

"Does it pay well?" Kendall replied. "Because I was thinking of getting a job while I was out here. I used to work in a grocery store back home."

"It pays like any restaurant would," Riley replied with a shrug of one shoulder. She balanced a tray on the palm of her hand. "Enough so that I'll stay, but let me tell you, it sucks having to worry about guys grabbing your arse and boobs, and having to dodge them all the time." She smirked. "But you shouldn't have that problem."

"Hopefully," Kendall laughed in reply.

"If you're looking for a job, just let me or Rhu know, we'd be glad to talk to Tom about it." Riley replied.

"Hey," Dak greeted as he pushed their way up to them, turning to Riley. "Have you seen-"

"She's over talking to Logan," Riley interrupted and Dak nodded and disappeared again. Riley looked at her watch and then turned back to Jo and Kendall. "I've got to get going, I have a lot of people that are still ordering food and I've gotten it to them yet." With a wave, she turned and expertly weaved her way across the crowded floor.

"So," Jo clasped her hands together. "Enjoying the dance?"

"Not really." Kendall said. He was being honest, he never really liked dancing, at least not slam dancing. You didn't get a bigger adrenaline rush than when you were slam dancing. "I don't even really know why I came here in the first place. Dances aren't really my thing."

"Oh come on," Jo reached out and lightly shoved his arm. "This is fun. Loud music, crazy people, fun times. What isn't there to love?"

Kendall pretended to think about it. "The loud music, crazy people, and fun times. A masquerade." He scoffed. "I don't know what possessed me to think this was a good idea."

"Every idea is good when it stays an idea." Jo replied mysteriously.

Kendall smiled again. "Yeah, I guess."

"I'll see you later then." Jo said after another long pause and walked around Kendall and disappeared. Kendall sighed as he pushed his mask up off of his face. It was hot, hotter than he thought it was going to be.

_Geez, now I know why they call this the Red Heat. They weren't joking when they named it. _Kendall wiped sweat off of his forehead, aware that he probably had large pit stains as well. He looked around and then finally spotted the table that was set up with candy bowl and a bowl of punch and cups. Kendall strolled over and grabbed a cup, pouring himself some punch as he did so.

He brought the cup up to his lips and tilted his head back, downing half of the cup in one gulp. Pulling the cup away, he licked his lips, enjoying the sweet taste and then tilted his head back to finish the rest of it. This time, when he pulled the cup away from his lips, he burped loudly, causing a couple beside him to throw him some dirty looks and walk away.

_Wow, I was thirstier than I thought. _Kendall grabbed the ladle for the punch and poured himself another serving. _Just to stay hydrated._

* * *

"Heyyyy," Jo looked up, her eyes growing wide when she saw Kendall stumbling his way over to her. "There you arrrre, I've been looking for you." Kendall put an arm around her shoulders and Jo smiled as she stepped closer to him.

"Really?" she asked, tilting her head back and smiling up at him. _Maybe he's finally going to ask me to dance. _"You've been looking for little ole me?"

"Yes, I've been looking for _you_," Kendall reached out and lightly pressed the tip of her nose with his index finger. "I've been looking for your face, everywhere?"

"Well," Jo giggled. "What about my face are you particularly attracted to?"

"What about Ace?" Kendall asked after a long moment of looking at her.

"I didn't say Ace, I said 'face'" Jo corrected him patiently, but her eyes were narrowed a little bit. "Are you sure you're ok, Kendall? You look a little…I don't know…off."

"I'm good." Kendall nodded, gently squeezing her. "But what's up with that Ace guy anyway?" Kendall asked, taking another sip of his punch. Someone bumped into him and he stumbled slightly, a giggle escaping his lips. "Why does everyone hate him so much?"

"You mean _besides_ the fact that he's a jerk?" Jo asked, rolling her eyes.

Kendall nodded. "Y-yeah….besides that."

"Well," Jo hesitated. "Rhuben and Ace used to date right? They dated for a long time, probably six, seven months. But apparently he had a bet going with his friends that he could date and bed both Rhuben and Riley." She took a deep breath. "So on one of their dates, Ace tried to assault Rhuben, _tried_ being the keyword there. She got away, and didn't say anything about it at first, but then he started to go after Riley and threatened her and her family, which, I guess, is what makes her scared of him now because she always tries to keep her brothers from getting in trouble. Rhuben found out and they pressed charges, but he got off basically scot-free."

"Wow," Kendall nodded slowly.

"But you have to promise not to tell them I told you," Jo pleaded, reaching out and grabbing onto Kendall's hand. "Ok, Kendall? Especially Rhubes, she's killed me if she knew I told you. Promise?"

"I promise." Kendall replied and took another big gulp of punch.

"Great," Jo let out a relieved sigh. "So you're from Minnesota, what's its like? What can you do-"

"Wow, this punch is good," Kendall interrupted, taking another sip. "Great punch!" He held his cup out of Jo. "You should try some of this punch! It's really great punch! Want some punch?"

"No," Jo replied, shaking her head, now looking uncomfortable. "I'm good with my soda."

"Ok," Kendall nodded rapidly. "Hey!" His eyes lit up as a slow song came on. "Do you want to dance?" Jo smiled and opened her mouth to reply, but Kendall dropped his cup to the ground, splattering the floor with punch, and forcefully grabbed onto Jo's hands. "Let's go dance!"

He dragged her onto the dance floor, pushing through couples that were dancing close together, and pulled Jo right into his chest, holding onto her tightly, . When he started swaying, Jo's concern turned to full blown anger, his hands were moving around her body, and when she tried to push his hands away, to keep them on her waist, he just batted her hands away.

"Kendall, what are you doing?" Jo demanded, raising her voice as she shoved him away from her. "Stop it!" She didn't care that she had everyone's attention, as her voice was easily rising over the music that pounded through the room. "Are you drunk?"

'I don't knowwwwww" Kendall replied, trying to look serious. But then a goofy smile rested on his face. "I think I am." He looked shocked. "Wow, I think I'm drunk."

"What's going on?" Logan walked over with Camille in tow. He looked Kendall up and down. "What's wrong with you Kendall? Are you-"He took a step forward and sniffed lightly, his free hand moved up to his face. "Are you drunk?"

"Yeah, he is." Jo replied, silently fuming.

"What happened, where'd he get the alcohol?" Logan asked, turning to her.

"Hey, what's going on?" Carlos asked as he and James walked over. "We were having a good time with the Jennifers and-"he sniffed the air and held a hand over his face before pointing to Kendall. "And you really stink."

"You know, I always thought the same thing, I just never said it out loud." WayneWayne commented, announcing his presence as he and Dak stood nearby. Dak elbowed him in the side, but didn't say anything.

"What's wrong with my brother?" Katie asked, pushing her way over to him. "Kendall? What's going on?"

"He's drunk, that's what's going on!" Jo spat and stormed away. Camille looked over at Logan, who just shrugged, and she darted off after her friend.

_Drunk? _Katie's eyebrows lifted in shock. _Kendall __never__ drinks, what's wrong with him?_

All of a sudden, Kendall let out a moan and clutched his stomach. He bent over so far, he was almost on his knees on the floor. As he bent over, the lights that were flashing throughout the building started to spin and dance about. "Stop spinning." He moaned, holding onto his stomach even harder.

"Kendall, are you ok?" James asked, placing a hand on Kendall's shoulder.

Kendall smiled in reply.

Then promptly passed out.

* * *

"Man Kendall is heavy," WayneWayne grunted as he shifted his grip on the boy. "Who would have thought that someone that doesn't work out so much could be such a lightweight?"

He, Dak, Logan, Carlos, and James were dragging Kendall back to the dorm. After they had grabbed him on the dance floor when he passed out, they tried, unsuccessfully, to wake him up. They had slapped his face, and Logan even tried pinching his Achilles tendon, but he just opened his eyes, mumbled something about light bulbs, and passed out again.

"Anyway, dude, were you able to ask her?" WayneWayne asked, turning his attention to Dak.

James' ears perked up. "Ask who what?" he questioned.

"Ask Rhuben to Homecoming," WayneWayne replied, grabbing Logan's and Carlos' attention as well. Everyone turned to Dak. "So, did you ask her?"

"Screw you man," Dak said, but he smiled a little. Probably due to the situation that they were in, it was probably going to be a good story to tell later. "No, I didn't get a chance. We hung out, sure, but it was hard to get her alone because Jo, Camille, Stephanie, Katie, or Lizzie was always popping up out of nowhere. I was going to ask her, but then Kendall came up, stumbling around the place all drunk, and then she bolted."

"Oh well," Logan shrugged, sounding the least bit sympathetic.

They dragged him for a few more minutes, and then they saw their dorm building looming towards them. A couple of the lights were on, but it was obvious that most of the people were at the Red Heart, partying away. That was good for them though, less people to stop and stare, wondering what was going on with Kendall and why they were dragging him around.

"Good," Logan wheezed, sucking in a huge breath of air. "We're back at the dorm."

"Achoo!" Carlos suddenly sneezed. The loud sound caused everyone to jump and drop Kendall onto the ground. "Bless me?" Carlos smiled sheepishly before bending down and rolling Kendall over onto his back. "Kendall, are you ok?"

"Wow," Kendall laughed hysterically. "That was _loud!_" He was practically shouting. "When you guys dropped me to the ground, I made a really _loud sound_!" He collapsed in a fit of giggles, his head lolling back and forth.

"Good to know he's not knocked out again," Logan wiped sweat off of his forehead. "It's better to know that he's awake and fully functioning."

"We're not out of the woods yet," Dak said, holding onto his side, where he had gotten a cramp. "We still have to get by Bitters."

"What's a Bitters?" James asked, turning to him. "Is that some sort of a snack cake?"

"You'd think," Dak snorted in reply. "Because all I ever do is see him do is eat." He shook his head. "No, Bitters is the 'manager' or 'house mother' of the guys' dorm." He explained. "I think his mother is the house mother of the girls' dorm."

"Your point?" WayneWayne snapped, wanting him to get to the point.

"Bitters hates teenagers, so he's always trying to find ways to keep us from having fun, which is why it's always hard for us to have a party," Dak explained as quickly as possible. "So we always try to mess with him as much as possible. But he has ears like a bat, he can _always_ tell whenever something is going on, so I don't know how we're going to get Kendall back in there without him noticing that he's drunk and underage."

"So we need a distraction," Carlos declared. "Not to worry," he smiled smugly as he started to pat his pockets, looking for something. "I always have something on me just in case we need to get out of something in a hurry." He pulled a small round object out of his inside pocket. "Aha!"

"What is that?" WayneWayne asked. He then burst out laughing as he grabbed the object and looked it over. "Is that a stink bomb? Awesome! I haven't seen one of these in years, at least, not ever since the last time I used one on my sisters."

"Why do you even have this with you?" Logan demanded, glaring over at Carlos. "I thought I confiscated all of those?"

"Well, you weren't going to search my pants." Carlos replied with a haughty smile.

"You got that right." Logan agreed.

"Hey guys," Kendall spoke up for the first time in a while. "Have you noticed that there are like…a _million _stars up there?" He started to laugh hysterically. "They look like fireflies! Millions and _millions_ of fireflies!"

"Can anyone shut him up?" WayneWayne said, looking irritated.

"I can fix that," James said and raised a fist.

"No way," Logan grabbed onto James' arm. "If you knock him out, he'll remember and when he becomes sober again, he'll be mad at you, so I don't think that's a good idea. You've seen Kendall when he's mad."

"Yeah, that's true." James relented.

"Alright, I'm going to launch the bomb." Carlos turned the small bomb up to his teeth, ripped the pin out with one pull, opened the door, and tossed the bomb into the lobby.

As the boys watched, the bomb rolled towards Bitters, smoke pouring out of it. It didn't take long for Bitters to notice the smell and drop his bag of popcorn to the floor and ran out of the building.

"Leave it to Bitters to leave the rest of us to deal with the smell." Dak muttered.

"Go, go, go!" James whispered and lifted Kendall up onto his shoulders. Logan and Carlos grabbed his feet and together, the three of them dragged their leader through the lobby and over to the elevators just as the doors opened to let three guys out.

They looked at the four boys, with odd looks on their faces, as they passed by. But not before they started to gag on the smell of the stink bomb that was in the lobby, still pouring out smoke.

Dak and WayneWayne then took the time to run all the way to WayneWayne's room, just in case Bitters came back around.

* * *

Carlos winced as Kendall threw up again, tightly holding onto the sides of the toilet. He, Logan, and James had crammed into the bathroom with Kendall, watching as he continuously threw up, just to make sure that he was ok. Logan had forced him into the shower, to get him to get washed up, and after he had thrown up in the shower, and trying to clean up that mess, he had pushed him over to the toilet to take care of his business then.

"Ugh, why didn't I notice that something was wrong with me?" Kendall asked, holding his breath as he got the feeling of throwing up again. He let out a sigh when the feeling passed. "Why didn't I notice that the punch was off?"

"The punch was spiked," Logan stated his arms crossed over his chest. "Which makes sense as to why you continue to drink it." He sighed. "The way that they make drinks spiked now, because the drinks used to change color, was so that you wouldn't notice the smell or the awful taste, as it would all pretty much be dissolved as soon as it hit the liquid, but it makes you thirsty enough that all you do is keep drinking."

"And making a fool of yourself," Carlos added with a laugh. "You should have seen it when you were trying to slow dance with Jo; you were like, melting and stumbling all over the place."

"Melting?" James turned a raised eyebrow to his helmet-clad friend, who just shrugged in reply.

"Did I ask her to homecoming?" Kendall asked, suddenly alarmed at the thought.

"Dude, at this point, I don't think she wants to talk to you again." James laughed.

Kendall glared at him and opened his mouth to say something, but he quickly turned to the toilet and held onto the sides, his body convulsing as he threw up. He reached up a shaky hand and flushed the toilet again.

"Just do me a favor," Kendall moaned, holding onto the toilet, resting his head against the seat. "Don't tell my mom."

* * *

**A/N: Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. How could you get drunk Kendall? Oh yeah, because I made it that you'd get drunk. Hahahaha. I didn't really get into his head on this one, because I felt that it was better to show what was going on with him rather than telling you guys, although I think that there was a little too much dialogue and not enough prose, what do you guys think? I hope you guys liked this chapter and we'll update again soon!**

**Oh and don't forget to read and review our other stories, I'd love to hear what you guys have to say about my new one-shot **_Heartless Winter_**. Oh and don't forget that we do take requests, although it might take a bit to get to it.  
**

**Cheers,**

**-Riles**


	21. Chapter 21: Big Time Camille

**~Big Time Camille~**

* * *

Camille shivered as she stepped into the hockey rink early that morning. She let out a yawn and pulled her coat closer around her body, shoving her hands into her armpits as she made her way down the bleachers, taking a seat on the flat bench, setting her bag on the ground. She gave WayneWayne a wave when he spotted her.

It wasn't like her to get up early in the morning to go to the ice rink, but she couldn't get a lot of sleep anyway. Anytime she tried, Jo would start bashing Kendall all over again. Katie would join in here and there as well. It was obvious how close the pair of siblings were and how disappointed Katie was as well, but Stephanie and Camille didn't really see why Jo was so mad. Like herself, Jo didn't really know Kendall and to get mad at him for making a mistake, she found was trivial and pretty stupid.

'_But then again, you say and do stupid things when you like someone_' Camille thought as she crossed one leg over the other, trying to warn herself. She had her suspicions that Jo had liked Kendall. She wondered what went on behind closed doors whenever Kendall was helping Jo with her music, ('_Or so she says_') but Jo never gave the girls anything besides, "We just played music and talked." But, Camille wasn't stupid.

She's been playing love-struck teenagers in plays and commercials for years and she knew first hand (kind of) how you acted. And she often found herself acting that way around Logan Mitchell. She had never had feelings as strong as this towards any guy before so it kind of scared her. And most often than not, she would find herself walking away from Logan feeling stupid, embarrassed, and playing everything over and over in her head, wishing she said or did things differently.

From day one, there was something about Logan Mitchell that enchanted Camille with his every feature and every move. In the many days following her first encounter with that boy, she frequently caught herself watching him through classroom windows, or across the quad, or as he was on his way to his dorm always trying to sneak a peek at him before he noticed.

Don't get her wrong; she wasn't a stalker or anything, and it's not like she was obsessed. She was just under a hypnotic trance. Somehow, that boy managed to work his inexplicable charm on her from the very moment she set her eyes on him.

"It's not like I was _trying_ to offend him," WayneWayne continued. "If I _wanted_ to offend him, I'd—not be listening to me, which is exactly what my friend Camille Roberts is doing right now."

Camille looked up at the mention of her name. "Sorry?" she asked in slight confusion. "Are you talking to me?" She wondered when WayneWayne had skated over to her, and had started talking to her about something. But, she hadn't been paying attention to him at all. She gave him a sheepish grin.

That was clearly the wrong thing to say, for the aspiring musician had let out a disappointed sigh, shaking his head back and forth, fixing Camille with a hard stare of annoyance. "Camille, are you _kidding_ me?" he exclaimed, raising his eyebrows. "Have you not been listening to a single word I've been saying?"

"I heard _that_," Camille meekly replied. "And parts of what you were saying earlier..."

"I'm in the middle of a heartfelt tirade," WayneWayne said, putting a hand over his heart, looking heartbroken. Camille rolled her eyes, "and _you_ are so very inconsiderately paying no attention to me. Instead, _you_ choose to stare off at—" WayneWayne stopped and swung around in a single fluid motion, to look at the other student athletes. "_Logan_."

Camille felt her face flame up and buried her head in her arms, feeling the hairs on her neck stand on end as people turn around to find the source of the commotion. "Wlly," Camille said in a tight voice, "why are you always so _loud_?"

"What is it about Logan Mitchell's physical features that make him so much more interesting than what I have to say?" WayneWayne demanded, although his eyes were flashing with amusement. "Honestly, Camille—"

"Keep your voice down," Camille pleaded. WayneWayne took one look at her face and instantly relaxed.

"What are you doing here anyway?" WayneWayne asked, resting his arms on the side of the rink. Camille opened her mouth to reply but he quickly motioned for her to wait before he made his way to the opening in the rink, and hobbled his way up the stairs to sit down next to her on the bench. She couldn't help but laugh at how bulky he looked with his pads on, his jersey stretched over the top of it. He unclasped his helmet and pulled it off, sweat matting his hair to his head. "You were saying? You're never up this early."

"I came here to talk to Kendall," Camille replied. "I didn't know when you guys ended practices though. And I haven't seen you play in years so—" She trailed off with a shrug.

"And you wanted to watch Logan too," WayneWayne replied and Camille shrugged again. "You've got it bad for this guy!"

"I can't help it!" Camille replied. "I've never felt like this before. He's just…different than the other guys here. And he's cute…and nice and smart." She shrugged for a third time. "I also wondered if I could think of getting him something for his birthday while I was out here."

"Camille, you don't even know the guy," WayneWayne commented with a small laugh, shaking his head. "Don't you think you're—"

"What?" Camille bristled. "I'm what?"

"You're…such a drama queen." Camille rolled her eyes as WayneWayne started laughing a little harder. "I know, I know, you've heard that enough about your acting, but still. I'm not trying to insult you. Just take things slow. The only thing you really know about Logan is that he is best friends with Riley and Rhuben, and Kendork and them."

"In the words of Robert M. Parker: part of life is to live it, and enjoy it, and seize the moments that you find particularly pleasing," Camille recited.

"Sooo, getting up early to watch a bunch of guys skate around, shook a block of rubber into a goal, and shove each other is pleasing?" WayneWayne asked, an amused look on his face.

"It just proves how strong you guys are and girls like strong guys." Camille dismissed with a wave of her hand.

"You want to talk to Kendall about Jo?" WayneWayne asked, changing the subject and Camille nodded. "I never pegged Kendork to be the type that would drink."

"That's just it, I don't think he is," Camille replied, throwing WayneWayne a look when he used his nickname for Kendall for the second time. "I think he was as nervous as Jo was to spend time with him in a setting like this." She sighed and ran her fingers through her wavy hair. "Jo only went to the party because she heard Kendall was going. We knew about parties like that; not to drink anything that's sitting out for a while. Obviously, Kendall didn't know about that."

"You'd figure someone like him would, though," WayneWayne commented.

"Why are you so willing to make an enemy out of everybody?" Camille demanded, shooting WayneWayne an annoyed look. "I get that you didn't want to come here, although you won't tell me why, but it's not going to help if you don't have any friends here." She then started waving her hands in the air around his head. "It's bad for your aura."

"I have you and Dak," WayneWayne commented, shifting in his seat, leaning out of her reach, giving her an odd look.

"You could have everyone else too, if you would stop trying to find something to dislike about everybody, you could probably have a good time here," Camille said as she turned to face him fully. She then tilted her head to the side and gave him a pointed smile. "Although, I've noticed you try to get under Riley's skin on purpose."

"So, I like her, so what?" WayneWayne said with a shrug, copying her movement from before. "I'm thinking about asking her to Homecoming." He rolled his eyes a little bit. "Actually, Dak and I kinda have a bet going on to see who can get Riley or Rhuben to agree to go to Homecoming with us first. We haven't actually agreed on a prize yet, but—" WayneWayne stopped in mid sentence and gave Camille and odd look when she hit him on the arm. "Um, ow?"

"You're lucky you have those pads!" Camille cried. "You don't want to make a bet at their expense, Wally, trust me."

"Could you _please_ call me WayneWayne?" WayneWayne asked, a pained look on his face.

"I'll call you whatever I please," Camille commented, crossing her arms over her chest. WayneWayne made another face at her but nodded. He knew better than to argue with her about something like that. "And like I said, don't make a bet about Riles and Rhubes. Nothing good will come from it and it's a very, _very_ bad idea. I can't believe Dak would do something like that."

"It's just for fun, 'Mille, chill," WayneWayne stated, putting up his gloved hands in defense. "Why are you so freaked about this?"

'_This is a real bad idea. Riles and Rhubes made us promise not to tell anyone. Kendall only knows because Jo told him, but they're not going to be happy about that either_,' Camille thought as she chewed on her bottom lip. '_It's really up to them to tell everyone else. This is all just going to blow up in their faces_.'

WayneWayne stared at her, waiting patiently. Camille shook her head. "I can't tell you. Just, _please_, don't do anything stupid. Trust me when I say, this is a _really_ bad idea and you're only going to end up hurting the girls. _My friends_." She hit him on the arm again. "And I want to be the first to tell you that Riley doesn't like the idea of being a prize to be won."

"Trust me when I say, that's not how I think of her," WayneWayne commented. "I have a sister, remember? I've seen her rant and rave about how women aren't objects." He rolled his eyes. "Something I've come to terms with and keep stored in the back of my mind." He then briefly shook his head. "Anyway, I've noticed something and I want your opinion on it?"

"What's that?" Camille asked, eyeing him warily.

"They tend to get…pissed off whenever the teacher calls them by their last name of McGuire," WayneWayne replied, peering at Camille's face. "And Riley especially is quick to jump down their throat, reminding them that her last name is McGuire. I was wondering if you knew why."

"Well, you know they're adopted," Camille replied slowly, trying to choose her words carefully. '_Riley would never forgive me if I gave too much away. She hates being talked about as it is_.' WayneWayne slowly nodded. "It's just weird for them to be known by a different last name."

"Why were they adopted?" WayneWayne asked.

"That's something you need to ask them, or Ronan, although with the latter choice, I doubt he'll actually give you the answer you want," Camille replied with a sigh.

"But, you know why," WayneWayne pressed.

"Yes, I do," Camille admitted. "But, I'm not going to tell you the reason why. It's something you'd want to hear from one of them, trust me." WayneWayne opened his mouth and Camille gave him a warning look. "Trust me on this, too."

The two of them jumped when a loud, shrieking, whistle pierced the air. "Dooley! On the ice!"

"Coach calls," WayneWayne commented as he slid his helmet back onto his head. He gave it two slaps much like Carlos did with his helmet. "You want me to tell Kendall you need to talk to him?" Camille could see WayneWayne roll his eyes behind his hockey helmet. "I doubt he'd believe it considering it's coming from me, but still."

"Don't bother," Camille replied, shaking her head. "I'll catch up with him later. It's too cold for me to wait, and I want a little more time to try and figure out what I'm going to say." She got to her feet and gave him a quick hug. "Have a good practice. Or at least try to. You're co-captain, remember?"

WayneWayne gave her a salute before making his way down the stairs and back out onto the ice. Camille let out a big breath of air as she left the rink, almost running into Rhuben who was also on her way out. "What are you doing here?" they both asked in unison, putting a hand over their hearts as they scared each other.

"I came to talk to Kendall, but I wanted to give myself some more time, and to figure out what I was going to say," Camille replied, glancing over her shoulder.

"And to look at Logan," Rhuben replied, a knowing look on her face as Camille flushed. "Logan had left some of his books in our apartment, so I just ran into the locker room to put them in his bag for him.

Camille blinked as thoughts immediately started running through her mind. '_Logan was with them last night? He left his books? How late did he stay? She got into the locker room_?' She couldn't figure out which one to ask out loud first. But, she didn't have to as Rhuben started waving a set of keys in her face.

"It's a plus having your dad work here," she commented with a grin. Camille slowly nodded, realizing that she had, like with his credit card on numerous occasions, had taken Ronan's keys without him knowing. '_She'd do that for any of us, Camille, calm down. She's just being a good friend. And she's known him for years now_.' "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Camille replied, bundling her coat closer to her as she lead the way outside. "I wanted to talk to Kendall about the drinking thing."

"According to Logie-Bear, he's never drank anything before, so they're pretty shocked he did something like that," Rhuben replied, causing Camille to grit her teeth. "But, I don't blame him for it as he didn't know it was in the punch and it was purely an accident." She peered over at Camille. "Ronan's suspicious about what went on at the party. I know we promised not to tell anyone, but if he asks me straight out what happened, you know I'm not going to lie to him."

"Yeah, I know," Camille replied with a nod. "I think Jo's blowing everything out of proportion but you know her, it's hard for her to change her mind about something." She let out a heavy sigh. "It's too much drama in the school year already. So, what are you thinking about getting Logan for his birthday?"

"Riles and I were thinking about making a scrapbook for him," Rhuben replied with a shrug. "We're trying to get some pictures from his mom." She gave another shrug. "What about you?"

"Oh, I don't know yet," Camille replied, feeling herself blush under her friend's gaze. "I barely know him, so I don't know what he'd like. Maybe an abacus or something."She then grimaced. "That seems kind of lame though. What do you think?"

"You'll think of something," Rhuben replied, waving her hand in the air. "He's not a complicated person when it comes to gifts." She then twisted her mouth to the side. "But, if you want a hint, anything Batman related should work." She removed her hand from her pocket and started swinging Ronan's keys around her finger. "I'm going to get Riles new strings for his guitar. But, Dak is the hardest to shop for."

"Gee, I wonder why?" Camille commented, sarcastically, giving her friend an amused look as she flushed in embarrassment. "Is it because, dare I ask, you're worried he's not going to like what you get him?" She laughed. "Girl, everyone knows no matter what you get him, he's going to hold it in high regard over everyone else's gifts."

Rhuben let out a heavy sigh. "Don't I know it," she commented, looking somewhat annoyed. "He was chasing after me all night at the party. I had to duck into the bathroom just to get away from him for a while. _The bathroom_. I swear, he's a few sheep short of the station."

"It's only because—" Camille trailed off. '_I should tell her about the bet. But, that could possibly really ruin everything for them and who knows whether she or Riles would ever trust guys or anyone for that matter? Then again, she'd get mad if she finds out about the bet and that I knew and I didn't tell her. Maybe Dak and WayneWayne will call this off before it's too late_.'

"Because?" Rhuben repeated, snapping her fingers in Camille's face. "Earth to Camille! What were you saying?"

"It's because he really likes you," Camille replied, giving a small smile, shifting her weight from foot to foot. "Dak's, like, seriously in love with you. I don't think he'll ever love someone else like he loves you. I can see why you find it annoying, but, it's also sweet."

"Sweet. Right," Rhuben agreed with a nod. She narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing Camille. "Are you sure you're ok? You look…freaked."

"I'm fine," Camille replied, forcing a smile. "Just fine." _For now_.

* * *

**Yes, I know it's a shorter chapter. I just wanted to really characterize Camille as the type of friend who likes to solve people's problems, and be the voice of reason, but also have a weakness as well. And I wanted to show Camille and WayneWayne's friendship as well, and I hope I did that well. Hope you guys liked this chapter.**

**Cheers,**

**-Rhubes**


	22. Chapter 22: Big Time Stephanie

**.:Chapter Twenty-Two – Big Time Stephanie:.**

* * *

Stephanie briefly looked back and forth from her notebook to her film teacher. When she wasn't doing that, she was looking at her watch. It wasn't that she didn't want to be in class, but it was that she needed to get a film topic for the project at the end of the semester. Sure, the semester had only started about two weeks ago, but she was somewhat of an over-achiever when it came to filming, so getting a topic this early would make it easier for her to make it the best thing that she had ever created.

Which was why she wished that class would be over, so she could meet up with her friends and get some ideas. Or just film around, catching conversations and get an idea that way.

_Maybe I could do a horror film, _Stephanie thought mused as she turned her notebook to the side and started to write down a list of props and supplied she'd needed if she did a horror film. _Halloween is next month and no one has done a horror film in a long time, I'm sure my friends would like to help as it is. _

But that wasn't the only thing that was running through her mind; she was trying to figure out whether or not to ask Carlos to homecoming. Although she is a tomboy and doesn't have a problem being friends with guys, but when it came to getting one to ask her out on a date, or to ask him a date herself. It was weird because he was so outgoing and it intimidated her a little bit and it bugged her because she usually didn't have a problem.

Plus, it wasn't helping much that all she could hear around her was people whispering about the homecoming dance and about the assembly that they were having later that day. No one was sure who the guests that were coming where, but there was going to be a speaker for every aspect of the school (musician/band, artist, dancer, film director, model) coming to talk to the students. There were a lot of rumors of who it was going to be that would be speakers and it was just causing there to be a lot of hype and anticipation for it, as the administration said this assembly was going to be bigger than the ones that they had had before.

"Class is dismissed." The teacher said as soon as the bell rang.

Stephanie leapt to her feet and gathered her books in her arms, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and hurried out of the classroom. Transferring her books to her backpack, she grabbed her video camera and pulled it out, turning it on as she pushed her way through the crowd of students that filled the halls along with her.

She grinned, turning her camera this way and that, capturing students who were acting out their monologues, students that were dancing as they went along the way and even videotaping people that were videotaping her.

_There is __never__ a dull moment at this school,_ Stephanie thought to herself with a laugh as she continued on. _I don't know how I could have lived without going to this school._

Stephanie headed over to the quad to meet up with her friends, the rest of their classes were cancelled for the day due to the assembly that was going on and she and her friends agreed that they would meet up in the quad before they went to the auditorium to find seats together.

"Hey guys," She called, hurrying over to Jo, Camille, Katie, Riley, Rhuben, Patrick, Noah, Sydney, Park, and Sol when she spotted them. "How were your classes?"

"Boring," Camille sighed as she rolled her eyes. "Normally I love acting classes, but there's only so much you can take of having to yell different words and phrases at the top of your lungs, trying to get energy into your voice." She looked around at the silence. "Long story, don't ask."

"Where are the guys?" Stephanie asked, slinging her backpack higher up her shoulder, speaking of Big Time Rush, Dak, and WayneWayne. So far, she wasn't very fond of WayneWayne, but because he was friends with Dak and Camille, she was going to give him the benefit of the doubt, although she was annoyed at how he always seemed to have something bad to say about everyone. "I figured they would have been here by now, you know, no classes and all."

"They're probably just running late after putting their books up," Noah replied, noticing that she was the only one that wasn't sitting down, and stood up, giving her room at the table.

"Thanks, Noah," Stephanie gave him a bright smile as she took his spot.

"It's no problem," he murmured in reply, a light blush rising to his cheeks as he rested against the table.

"So, have you asked him, yet?" Jo asked, jumping to another topic. She rested her arms on the table and leaned towards Stephanie, keeping her eyes on her.

Stephanie looked annoyed and said, "Hello to you, too, Josephine. How are you doing today? I'm great!"

Jo rolled her eyes, and quickly said, "Yes, yes, hello, and all that. Now, have you asked him yet?"

"Asked who, what?" Park asked, pulling his beanie off of his head and running his fingers through his blonde hair. "Oh wait," he smirked. "Homecoming right?" He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Why do girls care about that so much anyway, it's just a stupid dance!"

"You're only saying that because you already have a date," Patrick shot back and then turned a smile towards Jo. "Jo, if you don't get a date or whatever, you could always go with me." Rhuben smiled and reached out, lightly shoving him on the shoulder as Jo pulled her hair behind her ears.

"Thanks for that, Pat, I'll let you know." Jo replied and then turned back to Stephanie, missing an annoyed from Katie's face, and Patrick stick his tongue out at Noah, who rolled his eyes in reply. "Now, Steph, why didn't you ask him?"

Stephanie shook her head. "Because I haven't seen him all day, at least not since homeroom," she shrugged. "Besides, I wasn't going to do it when everyone was around, especially not after WayneWayne asked her," she pointed over to Riley, who looked amused.

"WayneWayne asked _you_?" Camille looked overly excited, drawing a weird look from the raven-haired girl. "What did you say?"

"No," Riley replied with a shrug.

"You said _no_?" Camille shrieked.

"Isn't that what she just said?" Sol replied, raising an eyebrow. "What's up Camille, you seem a little more jumpy than usual."

"Why'd you say no?" Camille ignored him.

"Because he didn't _ask _me," Riley used air-quotes around the words. "He basically _told me_ that I was going to go with him, which you know already bugs me," She rested her chin in her hand, pretending to think. "Besides, I think that I have to work that night."

"No you don't," Patrick replied, looking confused. "Tom already gave us that night off." He let out a cry as Riley reached up a hand and shoved him off of the top of the table and onto the ground.

Sydney laughed as he watched his brother pick himself up off of the ground. "Well, whatever happens with who asks who and all that, I hope you guys all have a good time." He smiled towards the others. "I'm not going this year because we're not performing, _but_," his eye lit up. "Patrick and Noah promised to bring me back a lot of junk food and any stories of funny things that happened."

"Sounds like you'll be having a good time that night then," Katie laughed. "Sitting in your suite, watching TV, and eating junk food, no drama. Maybe I'll join you."

"Aren't you going?" Rhuben looked surprised, her eyes darting over to her brothers, Park, and Sol.

"I haven't been asked yet," Katie replied, looking a little upset. "I mean, not that it would matter anyway," she added quickly. "Kendall will probably scare away the guy that would ask me to go anyway…_if _I'm asked."

"Don't worry about that," Camille waved a hand. "It's not until early next month, you still have plenty of time, besides, what you should worry about is all of these birthday gifts you have to buy."

"Or just get one large thing to share," Park suggested with a shrug.

"Cheapskate!" Sol coughed into his hand.

"I'm a student, not made of money!"

"ANYWAY," Jo loudly got everyone's attention again, and turned it back to Stephanie. "I can't believe you're scared to ask Carlos to Homecoming. He's going to say yes, you know that right?" she asked.

"I'm _not_ afraid to ask him," Stephanie glared at her. "Besides, I don't know if he'll say yes. And neither do you. Please don't make a big deal of it," she said. "I don't want to think he's going to say yes, when there's a good possibility that he might say no."

"Oh, come on! Carlos is _not_ going to say no to you," Jo replied. "He's too nice."

"Jo, I'm serious. Don't make a big deal about it," Stephanie warned, pointing a finger at her friend. "I know you; you always blow things out of proportion and make things worse if a relationship isn't going as fast as you want it to."

"Okay, okay, I won't make a big deal about it," Jo relented, holding her hands up in surrender. "When I'm around you, that is. When I'm by myself, however, I can't guarantee that I won't be grinning from ear to ear, and jumping up and down in excitement," she added, causing everyone else to burst out laughing.

"Hey," Sydney suddenly shouted, pointing behind their shoulders. "There are the guys! It's about time too; I want to know who these guest speakers are this time."

"There he is," Jo said, reaching out and nudging Stephanie's arm, as Big Time Rush, Dak, and WayneWayne were walking over to them, sans backpacks.

_So they had dropped their books off in their rooms_, Stephanie thought to herself as she watched them. _And changed their clothes too, I don't remember Carlos wearing that hockey jersey earlier today. _She then blushed when she realized that she had noticed what he was wearing earlier that day.

"Yes, Jo, I think we can all see that," Riley commented, rolling her eyes.

"And would quit nudging her, please?" Rhuben asked, laughing as she watched Stephanie's face. "She's trying to act casual and you're freaking her out!"

"Don't worry about that," Park stated, waving a hand. "We never notice if a girl is acting odd, we think it's cute anyway."

"Good to hear," Jo grinned as the guys got closer and looked at them, making sure that she kept her gaze away from Kendall, then turned her eyes back to Stephanie, although she was waving to the guys. "Well, Miss Casual, you better hurry up before someone else asks him."

"Right," Stephanie replied, getting up from the table.

She gripped her backpack tightly, and walked over to the guys. Carlos' eyes lit up when he spotted her and he waved enthusiastically. Stephanie wasn't sure if he was happy to see her specifically or just happy in general, because she hadn't really ever seen him without a smile on his face.

"Hey Steph," he greeted with a smile, causing Stephanie to smile as well. His smiles were infectious.

"Hey Carlos, hey guys," she greeted the other five guys that were standing around her. "How were your classes?"

"What classes?" James snorted. "I didn't even pay attention because I just wanted to get to that assembly." His eyes widened. "I heard that you get some really great free stuff."

"That's true, actually," Stephanie replied with a nod. "There's, like, a vendor's fair after the assembly and they give you a lot of cool stuff. Last time I got a new iPod."

"Sweet!" Kendall, Logan, Dak, and WayneWayne chorused.

"Anyway, Carlos," Stephanie turned to him. "I wanted to ask you something," She said lightly.

"Sure, go ahead." The smile never left his face.

Stephanie eyed the boys standing around her. They were watching her with open curiosity, and she could also tell that they knew what she was going to ask, and was looking at her with stupid grins on their faces, and Stephanie suddenly felt really uncomfortable.

And the urge to punch each and every one of them in the face.

"Uh, do you mind if we go over there for a second?" Stephanie asked, settling her eyes on Carlos's face once more, vaguely gesturing to the side. "It'll just take a second. I promise."

Carlos looked at her and frowned slightly. "Okay…" he said, slowly. "Is everything alright?" he asked, as he started to follow her across the quad.

"Yeah," Stephanie replied, smiling at him. "I'd just rather ask you without the audience," she added, nodding back to his friends.

"Okay, Steph, you're kind of making me nervous," Carlos grinned, albeit nervously. "What's going on? You don't want to stop being my friend do you?" he joked.

"Of course," Stephanie replied, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, as she turned around to look at him. "You know you're the only reason I can get away with whatever I want in homeroom."

Carlos pretended to be hurt, clutching his chest where his heart was. "So, after all these…weeks, I find out you've just been using me to get out of getting in trouble. I should have known."

"Ha ha," Stephanie deadpanned. "Actually, I wanted to ask you if…" she started, before suddenly being cut off by a very loud, "Oh my God!"

Carlos and Stephanie both looked around to see what all the commotion was and saw Jennifer Woods, making her way towards them. Stephanie made a sound of announce. She didn't like any of the Jennifers, the three of them and her hated each other and have hated each other ever since they met a few years before, and the Jennifers seemed to make it their mission to find a way to piss her off. But now she wasn't sure why Jennifer 2 had broken away from the other Jennifers and was now going to do something to bug her to no end.

By now, the remaining students that were around them in the quad had heard Jennifer's outburst, and were watching her just as intently as Stephanie was. Jennifer 2 ignored them, and continued on her way, finally coming to a stop beside Stephanie and Carlos.

"Uh, hey, Jennifer," Carlos said, cautiously. "What's up…?"

"You're not seriously going to do it, are you?" Jennifer suddenly said to Stephanie, interrupting Carlos.

Stephanie did not like the tone she heard in Jennifer's voice or the mischievous glint in her eye. "Uh… do what?" Stephanie asked, feigning ignorance.

Jennifer narrowed her eyes. "I heard you with your friends, Stephanie. You're not seriously going to ask Carlos to the Homecoming Dance, are you?" she repeated, loud enough for everyone around to hear. Stephanie felt her face heat up immediately. "You might as well forget it because he's going to say no," Jennifer added, crossing her arms over her chest and giving Stephanie a deliberate once-over.

"Why do you care anyway?" Stephanie hissed back, her eyes narrowing. "You don't even like him!"

"I know that," Jennifer rolled her eyes. "But do you think I'm going to sit around and see you do something so potentially _embarrassing_ and just sit back and watch?"

"Jennifer!" Carlos hissed, his eyes darting over to Stephanie.

Stephanie wanted to crawl into a hole and die. All she could do, though, was stare at the linoleum-covered floor in silence.

"Well?" Jennifer pressed, clearly not appreciating the fact that she was being ignored.

"Shut up, Jennifer!" Carlos snapped, glaring at her.

Stephanie looked up to find Jennifer smirking at her cruelly; a perfectly shaped eyebrow was raised, daring her to say something. She then looked at Carlos and found him staring at her intently, almost as if trying to read her mind.

"Steph…" he started, taking a step towards her.

Stephanie could feel the eyes of every single person around staring at her. As she looked around, she saw that a few had already started whispering about what they had just witnessed. She had never been more embarrassed in her entire life, so she did the only thing she could think to do.

She turned around and ran before Carlos could say anything else.

* * *

**A/N: So here's the next chapter, it's kind of short, I guess. I realized that we hadn't shown Patrick, Noah, Sydney, Park, and Sol in a bit, so I decided to bring them back up in this chapter, although it focused mostly on Stephanie and what's up with her and Carlos and everything. Ronan, Gustavo, Kelly, and Kacy will appear again soon.**

**For those of you wondering/correcting us WE KNOW that Mrs. Knight's name is actually Jennifer, but we decided to keep her name Kacy because we like the 'K' theme with the Knight family.**

**This story is going to pick up soon, it's sort of slow going at this point, but don't worry, the drama will start.**

**Cheers,**

**-Riles**


End file.
